After the Falls
by serenphoria
Summary: Just because Sasuke came back doesn't mean everything's all right. For a change so small, who could guess the consequences would be so great? / Deviates after Valley of the End /
1. Something Gained, Something Lost

**Summary: **Sasuke returns to Konoha after confronting Naruto in the Valley of the End. But all is not well. A small change, and the aftermath.

**Author's Note and spoiler warning**: What if Naruto had a slightly less emotional reaction in the moments before Sasuke tried to kill him at the Valley of the End? This is an exploration of how events may have unfolded if Naruto's emotional state had affected his use of Kyuubi's power at the end of chapter 227 (episode 131). The story proper takes off around chapter 4. Please enjoy and I look forward to your comments!

* * *

-'-

**Chapter 1**

**Something Gained, Something Lost**

-'-

The waterfall continued to roar as it always has between the austere sentinels who watched over the land of Fire with their unblinking stone eyes. But for Naruto, the Valley of the End grew silent save for the crackling chakra behind his head. He was hardly aware of the arm rammed through his right lung.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked with amusement. "You were able to make me miss your heart by a little." He willed his mouth to contort into a wider, more sadistic grin. "But it doesn't matter, you're going to die anyway."

Naruto's senses started to fade, his entire body throbbing in a dull ache after the initial blinding pain of the Chidori. Naruto choked out blood and stained Sasuke's arm guards.

"Sssaass…"

His head swam and he was desperately trying to stay focused, to stay conscious. He still had so many questions, But more importantly, he still had a mission to finish, a promise to keep.

"Ss…Sasuke…"

Uchiha Sasuke couldn't keep the corners of his lips up. Somewhere hidden from himself his resolve wavered as he watched his friend struggle for breath, his name on his lips.

"I don't understand…why you…" Naruto rasped and clutched Sasuke's arm for support. He painstakingly lifted his eyes to meet the other's. "But I don't regret it…coming after you."

Sasuke's eyes widened. In the calm, his power-high was slowly draining and in its place the gravity of the situation was slowly sinking in:

Naruto knew he was dying.

Naruto was dying.

"You know, Sasuke…you're strong."

Sasuke trembled imperceptibly.

"There…others are strong…" Though the words were slow to form, the blond's voice had an edge of urgency. "Granny and that pervy sage could beat him." One fought for breath, the other held his. "We'll go back. He'll train you. Jiraiya will train you."

Naruto's breath hitched. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Sasuke could feel Naruto's nails clawing into his arm.

"Just…don't go to Orochimaru. You…you have a dream to fulfill…" Naruto felt like he was underwater. He was slipping out of consciousness, but fought it with an iron will. He had one more thing he had to say:

"Don't you die, Sasuke."

Sasuke's dark eyes went wide at the eerily familiar words and instinctively jerked his hand out of Naruto before he could place the memory. Anything to put distance between him and the boy. Naruto fell into an orange heap onto the surface of the water…

And sank.

Naruto sank into the murky blue, not conscious enough to struggle for breath. Water filled the cavities of his body, trails of crimson danced upward. His soul tugged and pulled from his battered body, asking to be released. And deep inside his body, Kyuubi pounded against the gates.

_**SHIT!**_

-'-

Circlets gently rippled beneath Sasuke's feet. He stood, frozen, long after he watched Naruto's limp body swallowed by the dark depths of the water. A small bubble broke the calm surface with finality. Suddenly, the ripples at his feet grew violent and Sasuke found himself on his knees, his hand pressed over his eyes. He squeezed them tight and a tear ran down his cheek.

It burned.

Sasuke open his eyes wide and trembled, shocked by his own reaction. He painfully swallowed down a lump that rose threateningly in his throat and willed his ragged breath to stabilize. _Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out.  
_

The surface of the water was already bubbling and glowing red before he noticed. Sasuke flung himself back and fell into a fighting stance, Sharingan activated.

A hand broke the surface. Another. Blond hair. Naruto hung to the water's surface by his elbows, struggling to pull the rest of himself up. Sasuke sensed a strange chakra linger around Naruto's body for a moment before it vanished. He stared in disbelief.

Naruto grunted, pulling his foot up to the surface with a splash. The noise jerked Sasuke back to reality and unstuck his tongue. "You're…you're not dead."

Naruto glared at him. "Yeah, sorry to disappoint." He felt completely worn and irritable and missed the hint of relief in Sasuke's voice. Sasuke continued to stare when something caught Naruto's attention.

"Sasuke, your eyes…" Naruto started, his tetchiness momentarily forgotten. Sasuke broke his gaze and turned around, quickly wiping at his eyes with his arm.

"It's nothing" Sasuke deadpanned, "leave it."

"Fine, whatever, bastard."

They stood for a moment in silence, Naruto squinting his eyes critically at Sasuke's back trying to decide if the Uchiha had given up the fight.

"Hey, Sasuke."

It was Sasuke's turn to watch Naruto's back and he eyed the large, singed tear below the shoulder of the gaudy orange jacket.

"Let's go home."

Sasuke hesitated, the words weighing heavily in his chest, but eventually stepped up beside Naruto.

"Yeah, okay."

-'-

* * *

Chapter 2: **Stirrings.** Naruto's blue eyes met Gaara's green ones, but neither said a word.


	2. Stirrings

-'-

**Chapter 2**

**Stirrings**

-'-

Two figures made their way slowly and silently through the forest towards Konoha. One walked steadily, his arms crossed. The other rode on a cloud of sand.

Subaku no Gaara came to a stop.

"Huh? What is it?" asked Lee.

The Sand-nin responded by glancing in the direction where he felt someone's presence. Lee, who was riding behind Gaara, swung his head around haphazardly until he spotted an unnatural shade of orange in the shadows some way off.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee shouted and waved his hands above his head wildly. Gaara's imperceptibly pale eyebrows twitched slightly at the the boy in green. Feet crashed through the woods and two figures appeared.

"Bushy-brows!" greeted Naruto before he skidded to a stop. Sasuke, who followed behind him, gritted his teeth and fell instinctively into a fighting stance. Ignoring the protests of their aching bodies, both stood on high alert.

"Sasuke-kun!" Lee smiled so brightly his eyes closed, "I'm so glad." The comment fell on deaf ears.

"Gaara!" Naruto stepped back defensively without thinking. "What are you doing here?"

"He came to help, Naruto-kun," Lee quickly explained to prevent the confrontation from escalating to a fight. The last time Naruto and Sasuke saw Gaara was when the Sound attack Konoha. "He saved me from Kimimaro after you left."

Naruto blinked in surprise, then squinted closely at Gaara's face. The redhead frowned and leaned back slightly. Naruto was uncomfortably close. "This guy…? Naruto asked.

Gaara looked at the boy for a beat before starting forward again, pulling the sand cloud Lee sat on with him as if it were a balloon led by an invisible string. Naruto cantered forward to walk beside the Sand-nin.

"Yes, Gaara-san mentioned something about owing Konoha a debt," Lee offered as an explanation. Gaara glanced at the blond next to him, who was watching him with his head cocked to the side questioningly. Gaara stopped and turned around, glancing between the three Leaf shinobi who accompanied him. _How odd…_

"My debt is to you three." All three responded in silent confusion, though Sasuke didn't show it on his face like the others did. Gaara made eye-contact with Naruto. "Especially you." He turned and continued walking as if there had been no interruption.

Naruto stood blinking stupidly for a moment before breaking out into a mischievous grin. He ran to the front and turned to walk backwards, his hands behind his head. "You mean for beating the crap out of you?" Naruto provoked. "Anytime."

"Don't get cocky, dumbass," Gaara returned.

Lee watched Gaara nervously. Even though the Sand shinobi was an ally now, he couldn't forget the murderous intent he felt when Gaara crushed half his body in the preliminaries. The wounds from the reconstructive surgery throbbed as if to verify his memories. Sasuke observed warily from behind, caught in his own memory of the hatred and blood-lust Gaara had claimed they shared. Of the unbelievable power he wielded.

Of the demon.

Yet he felt no tension between Naruto and Gaara as they continued through the woods, the blond with that stupid smile stretched across his face and the redhead as impassive as ever. Impassive, but not angry. Or psychotic.

Sasuke frowned at the memory of Naruto and a demonic Gaara fighting just before he had lost sight of them in the woods not so many months ago. _Gaara owed Naruto? What happened between them?_ Sasuke had never thought or cared to ask. He had been too distracted by the fact that it was Naruto who saved him and Sakura. _Naruto _who had beaten Gaara to a draw.

Gaara wanted to say more, but he hardly recognized the feeling of gratitude, let alone have the words to express it. He wasn't used to thinking about others after isolating himself for so long. Even with his teamma—_siblings,_—making connections was difficult. But though the barrier he built for himself since Yashamaru betrayed him was an ultimate defense, these three cracked it. Uchiha Sasuke literally. He proved that his defense wasn't invincible and made Gaara feel his own blood for the first time. Then witnessing Lee's bond with his sensei drudged up confusing and painful memories, but forced him to confront the emotion Yashamaru had defined (and tainted) as 'love.' Slowly, he's starting to reconcile with the abstraction.

And that Uzumaki character...For some reason he said he knew and understood Gaara's pain. Real pain. The hard pain that made one crave physical pain just to escape it. And strangely, Gaara believed him. They fought as enemies, but somehow parted as…what was it? Companions? Kindred-spirits? Gaara couldn't put a word to that either, but with that connection, with the new-found conviction that he too could share a life with others, it had somehow given him more control of the demon inside him. Perhaps it no longer had unstable, angry emotions to react to—

Gaara suppressed a gasp as his insides lurched and Shukaku pulled violently towards the blond next to him. The redhead watched Naruto out of the corner of his eyes and caught him white-knuckling his fists as if to direct pain into his palms. Naruto face struggled into a grimace.

Then, as suddenly as it came, the feeling was gone.

Naruto's blue eyes met Gaara's green ones, but neither said a word.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 3: **Promises. **To the oppressive buzz of the hospital's florescent lighting, everyone makes promises.


	3. Promises

-'-

**Chapter 3 **

**Promises**

-'-

The red florescent light buzzed oppressively next to the ER sign in the silent waiting room. The meager hospital staff was spread thin today: several young shinobi were recently brought in wounded, two in critical condition. Behind the door the Hokage herself was fighting to save an unconscious Akamichi Chouji, who was battling the self-destructive side effects of his clan's special soldier pills. Down the hall, Hyuuga Neji, his body still clammy from shock, writhed in pain as elite medic-nin desperately worked to repair his torn body. Nara Shikamaru, their team leader, sat nervously twiddling his thumbs…

After an eternity, the red light blinked off. Chouji was alive. Neji was alive. Shikamaru allowed himself a moment of relief before nervousness took over again. Now all there was left unknown was….

"Kakashi-san has arrived with Naruto and Sasuke-kun," a nurse reported to the Hokage.

"Good," she acknowledged and allowed a small smile to cross her lips. _Good. Both of them..._"What are their conditions?"

"Both have yet to be assessed, but neither seems to have sustained life-threatening physical injuries, Hokage-sama. Lee-kun arrived with them with some surface wounds and is presently being treated. They were accompanied by Subaku no Gaara, who is unhurt. Just mild chakra exhaustion."

"Hn. Isn't that just like Gaara?" his sister Temari mused more to herself than to the others in the room. Shikamaru looked up; he had completely forgotten she was there. Pushing up heavily with his palms, he stood and made to leave.

"Seems as if your mission succeeded."

Shikamaru stopped at the sound of the Hokage's voice.

"Despite everything."

Shikamaru never bothered with emotions. It was too troublesome. As the clearheaded chuunin leader, he kept his heart at bay and let his exceptional mind work. But the Hokage's words ended his mission like magic, her last comment striking its mark, and suddenly his defenses broke. A wave of dammed up self-loathing, guilt, and relief flooded up his throat and into his eyes.

"Next time," he choked back a sob, "the mission will be executed perfectly."

-'-

Sakura walked down the corridor with a flower clutched to her chest. _I can't believe Sasuke-kun's not allowed visitors. Jeez! When I asked that stupid Naruto to bring Sasuke back, I meant unhurt. Why does it always come down to fisticuffs with that boy?_

Sakura was trying to get annoyed with her loud teammate and regain some semblance of normalcy. Yet in the back of her mind she knew that in the end it was Sasuke who left and Naruto who stood by her side. She shook the thought out of her head.

_No, Sasuke must have had a good reason. He was upset about something and it made him irrational. But he's back and everything is okay now_, Sakura convinced herself. She was starting to feel a little foolish for breaking down and begging Naruto to bring Sasuke home. _You're such an idiot, Sakura. Sasuke's too clever to go do something stupid,_ she chided at herself.

She heard footsteps coming down the hall and snapped out of her reverie.

"Shikamaru-kun, did you come to see Naruto too?" Sakura greeted with a smile, not noticing that the newly appointed chuunin was more somber than usual.

"Yeah." Shikamaru noticed the single bloom in the konoichi's hand and surmised that it was originally meant for Sasuke. "Don't bother, I've been waiting for him to wake up for over an hour and he hasn't stirred."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "Was it really that bad? What happened?" _Naruto, what did you do?_

Shikamaru just shrugged and walked away. Then he paused and glanced back at Sakura, noting her choke-hold on the blossom. He addressed the ceiling.

"That guy…he puts his heart in everything, even if no one asks and no one watches. If it weren't for Naruto, this mission would have been a complete failure."

Confused, Sakura watched Shikamaru retreating back and it was a few moments before she remembered where she was going. She continued down the hall and stood at Naruto's door before silently pushing it open.

Naruto was lying in the hospital bed under a thin blanket and Sakura could just make out bandages wrapped around his shoulders and up around his neck and head. But what caught her off guard the most was the color drained from his face. She's seen him sleep—sprawled out gracelessly with his mouth hanging open—as animated asleep as he is awake. The Naruto in front of her now was expressionless. If anything he looked tired,…lifeless.

Sakura shook away the thought but her eyes rested on her injured teammate again. _I guess he did go all out_, _didn't he?_ she thought, starting to feel guilty about trying to write him off just moments before. _Who am I to criticize when all I could do was cry?_ An image of a hollow and hardened Sasuke the night he left crossed her mind. _I just get in the way. I don't want to be the one who just cries any more._ Sakura's brow furrowed and her eyes gleamed in steely determination as she thought about her teammates. _Next time, I'll help. I want to help the important people in my life. I won't be a burden anymore._ She turned to find the Hokage.

A flower lay on Naruto's bed stand.

-'-

The sannin eyed Sasuke's sleeping form critically. They were not the possessive yellow eyes of a snake, but those of a concerned, if somewhat confused, toad hermit. Jiraiya had been specifically requested to help Tsunade seal Orochimaru's curse on Sasuke Uchiha. It was painfully obvious now that Kakashi's prior sealing was not effective, nor was Sasuke trustworthy enough to attempt another seal that required the boy's cooperation. Jiraiya understood that it was the best Kakashi could manage given his skill-level with seals. Besides, as a teacher, a self-regulated seal shows trust and helps develop mental and moral strength. But that time is dead and gone. They needed absolute containment now to prevent anymore damage to the young shinobi's body.

_Dammit, kids think they're indestructible._

His mind wandered to another young shinobi whom he had previously resealed. What was this kid to Naruto? Jiraiya had just arrived that morning with news of the Akatsuki and had planned to take Naruto away to train so the brat could defend himself when he and the dangerous missing-nin cult ultimately clashed. But while he wasn't surprised that the reckless Naruto had landed himself in the hospital again, he certainly didn't expect Naruto to pass up the chance to train exclusively with the sannin.

Instead, he pleaded with Jiraiya to take in Sasuke as well. _Well, 'demanded' would be more accurate,_ Jiraiya corrected himself. The blond said he made a promise and he couldn't go back on his word. He said he had to prove to Sasuke that he didn't have to give up his freedom to gain power. He said he had to show him that he doesn't have to be alone, that he could be strong without breaking bonds. Naruto said a lot of things, but the sannin latched on to something in particular:

'_I don't care if Sasuke hates me for it, I can't stand by and watch him destroy himself.'_

Kakashi had told him that the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke was like his and Orochimaru's relationship. Jiraiya knew what it felt like to be in a one-sided friendship, to be constantly seeking acknowledgement from someone who would never accept him as an equal. He knew the helplessness and the pain of watching someone you cared for desert you and walk down a path filled with darkness. Perhaps that was partly why Jiraiya was drawn to the boy. Only Naruto did what he could not: stop his comrade from abandoning Konoha, at least for now.

He looked at the resting Sasuke with a grim expression. It was against his better judgment to grant Naruto's wish; he needed to concentrate on Naruto's training if they ever hope to have a chance against the Akatsuki. But something in the earnestness in the boy's voice and eyes despite his obvious exhaustion ignited feelings he's long ignored. He would help Sasuke. He would help Naruto succeed where his younger self had failed. He would not let history repeat itself.

'_Please Pervy Sennin, I can't go back on my word. That's my ninja way.'_

'_Mm'_

He had watched the blond fall into a deep sleep before Tsunade discovered him in the hospital room and asked him to assist her in the sealing procedure.

-'-

A single candelabrum lit a dark cavernous hall. At the end of it, a man knelt before an elevated chair, where a figure sat bandaged from head to toe save for a glossy reptilian eye. His hands gripped the armrest tightly, channeling his rage into the inanimate object. He hated when things didn't go his way.

"Kukukuku," Orochimaru forced-chuckled with an edge of insanity. "So they all died, did they? And I had invested so much in them too. What a disappointment." The contours of his facial bandages shifted as he frowned. "And there's no sign of Sasuke-kun?"

"There was evidence of an extensive battle at the border, but no bodies were found. Presumably Sasuke was prevented from crossing the border. Sasuke-kun should have been met by our liaisons by now if he made it across." Kabuto kept his eyes on a spot on the stone floor, watching the shadows dance to the flicker of the flames. Normally he was boldly causal with Orochimaru, but considering the importance of this mission to the volatile sannin, Kabuto didn't want to risk provoking him into punishing the messenger.

"I guess it couldn't be helped. I had to transfer into this form anyway."

Kabuto looked up at his master surprised. Lately he had caused such a fuss, throwing tantrums like a child since his arms were taken by the Third. Perhaps the new body was enough to quell his temper as well as the pain.

"Sasuke-kun's constitution will draw him to me again," the snake said silkily. He rested his temple on his fist as he leaned on the armrest. "And if not, there's more than one way to skin a cat, right, Kabuto?"

Kabuto stood and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Of course," he smirked.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 4: **One of Those Off Days**. Team Seven is back in action and back to normal. Sort of.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for giving this story a chance! The timeline deviates a little more from here. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome and appreciated.


	4. One of Those Off Days

-'-

**Chapter 4**

**One of Those Off Days**

-'-

Naruto waited in the shadows.

From his perch in the tree he could see copies of himself and his team stop to talk in a clearing. The plan was simple: draw out the enemy with his kage bunshin as decoys and trap them at Kakashi's signal. Naruto concentrated on imitating the alertness of Sasuke's eyes, the nervous twist of Sakura's hands, the bored tone of Kakashi's voice. The feint was effective only if the decoys were believable; details were paramount. Naruto had long since mastered appearance—even Sasuke was impressed with the transformations during the second chuunin test in the Forest of Death, though he'd never tell Naruto—but now Naruto concentrated on mannerisms. He was always proud of his bunshin henges; the proverbial prankster was a natural at imitation when he actually tried.

Five ninjas suddenly surrounded the decoys, who were poised back-to-back with kunai in hand. The enemy attacked and the decoys countered, battling one-on-one.

Naruto screwed his eyes in concentration. Beads of moisture formed on his brow. If he had the luxury of breaking his concentration, Naruto would have complained that no one understood how complicated his task was. Each decoy had to act independently, with its own style of fighting, and they couldn't be hit or they would disappear with a puff of smoke and their plan would fail. Naruto was glad there were only four decoys: the more there were the harder it was for him to control. Multiple decoys were good for the shock factor and buying time, but extremely ineffective in a fight if his bunshin weren't allowed to get hurt.

_Damn, when is Kakashi going to give the signal?_

That was all it took to break his concentration. Naruto straightened his back in surprise as bunshin-Sakura disappeared.

_Crap!_

Naruto's control over the jutsu rapidly disintegrated despite his redoubled efforts to recover. _Bamph! Bamph!_ Two more puffs of smoke. In a flash, the real Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were flying into the clearing, but their opponents were already on guard. Kakashi took on two ninja, Sakura and bunshin-Naruto faced a pair and Sasuke took on the last, hovering protectively near Sakura. Naruto fell to the ground heavily, ready to join his double, but when he looked up it was already gone.

_Damn it!_

Naruto ran towards the battle. The now opponent-less ninja rushed at Sakura, who was easily identified as the weakest fighter of the team. Naruto quickly considered his options. _Rasengan?_ No, they just needed to detain them. _Naruto Rendan?_ A quick self-assessment indicated that he didn't have enough chakra for four more bunshin. _A modified one then._ Speeding up, Naruto formed a hand-seal: _Kage bunshin no jutsu!_

...He felt strangely alone.

The blond swung his head about, desperately trying to locate his bunshin when two orange heaps behind him caught his eye. Turning back to the battle, Naruto barred his fangs and shook away the rising heat in his cheeks. _This is not the time to be embarrassed!_ he reprimanded himself and leapt onto the back of one the ninja attacking Sakura, kunai in hand.

The ninja doubled over and threw Naruto off. Raking the ground with his free hand for stability, Naruto skidded to a halt and ran at the ninja again. He leapt up high into the air to gather momentum on the way down for a direct attack. His target stood squinting into the sunlight.

"Aaaarrghh!" Naruto yelled, raising his kunai with both hands. He jabbed it down and was countered. The ninja pushed Naruto away, swinging back his arms in a wide arc. Naruto used the momentum to propel himself back into the air. From his airborne-view, he unconsciously assessed the situation: Sakura had a ninja in an unceremonious headlock, Kakashi and another ninja were dancing circles around each other, another nin was tied to a tree…

"Naruto! Watch out!" he heard Sasuke yell and bright blue eyes widened in a panic as he spotted a sickle attached to a heavy chain barreling his way. Unable to change his trajectory in mid-air, he raised his arms and braced himself for the blow. He felt blood on his arms.

But not pain.

Naruto landed and saw Sasuke land beside him, clutching the sickle with one hand, his thigh with the other. Bright, red blood seeped through Sasuke's pale khakis and trickled down his alabaster skin. Something deep inside Naruto's abdomen lurched and he picked up the kunai that had grazed Sasuke and charged at the nin who had thrown it at Sasuke's blind spot moments before. He swung the kunai towards the ninja's head and the opponent grabbed his wrist to block. Naruto's other hand fisted and slammed into the ninja's palm, which barely intercepted the punch aimed at the stomach. With a yell, Naruto hooked his legs around and swept the ninja's feet from under him. They both tumbled to the ground.

They struggled for a bit, but in the end, Naruto found himself pinned to the ground with his hands behind him.

"Pathetic," a deep baritone spat as its owner reached for a weapon. "It's over."

Naruto faintly felt a familiar chakra signature and arched his neck to look at his attacker with a tired smirk.

"You're right."

It was Kakashi's voice. And it was Kakashi's kunai against the ninja's jugular.

The ninja raised his arms slowly in resignation and in a swift motion Kakashi knocked him out and proceeded to tie him up. Naruto pulled himself up shakily and watched Sasuke secure the last ninja with the enemy's own metal chain. The blond raised his dirty left palm slightly and looked down at it, the vow he made what seemed like an eternity ago echoed in his head. Anger suddenly flaring, he stomped over to his teammate and shoved.

"Bastard, I could have handled it!"

Caught off guard, Sasuke stared a moment before collecting himself, narrowing his eyes at the blond.

"You're totally winded, dumbass."

Naruto didn't need to be told, he could feel it. His rival's condescending comment just made him angrier. Or it should have. Naruto should have yelled back that he didn't ask for his help, that Sasuke was an idiot for getting hurt over him. He should have wondered to himself why this mission took so much out of him while Sasuke stood calmly as if taunting him—didn't he catch up? Didn't they fight evenly on the hospital roof?

Instead, he gritted his teeth and became distracted by the bright trails of crimson that coated Sasuke's left leg. His brain felt guilty and upset that his teammate got hurt because of him. The rest of him felt a twinge of pleasure and his fingers itched to dig his nails into the wound.

"Your…"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura rushed over to the boy, nearly knocking Naruto down. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Sasuke's piercing gaze lingered on Naruto before turning his attention to the fawning kunoichi, who was insisting on treating his wound. Sakura felt Naruto's eye on them as she sat Sasuke down and chided her crush out of concern_. Jeez, it's been so tense between those two, _Sakura thought,_ ever since…_

She could feel Naruto's intense gaze on the blood.

"Shallow wounds always look worse than they really are," Sakura offered to comfort the blond as she wrapped bandages around the cut. _Darn, just gave up my excuse to make a fuss over Sasuke,_ Sakura thought sadly. _I sure have gone soft on Naruto…_

"Y...yeah." Naruto acknowledged, ignoring how his voice had gone a little hoarse.

Kakashi watched his students. _Hm, seems as if our Sakura has grown a bit. _He walked over.

"Good job everyone. Sasuke, excellent battle skills as usual. Sakura, you held your own well, and it seems you're on your way to being a fine medic-nin. And Naruto…" The Copy Ninja paused. Naruto winced and half-heartedly hoped Kakashi was just pausing for dramatic effect. "We couldn't have done it without your diversion, good job." The jounin's eye squinted to indicate a smile.

"Let's get moving. We want to get these guys back to their village and ourselves back to Konoha before the day is out."

-'-

* * *

Chapter 5: **Losing Oneself**. Naruto pulls a Gaara. Kakashi is at a loss.


	5. Losing Oneself

-'-

**Chapter 5**

**Losing Oneself**

-'-

Team Seven made their way back towards Konoha after wrapping up their mission earlier that morning. Uncharacteristically, Naruto hung back behind the team in silence.

"Hey guys, let's stop for lunch." Sakura turned to her teammates with a smile, "I made bentos."

They spread a picnic by the side of the road under the shade of the trees. Sakura passed around pre-made lunches.

"Dig in Naruto," Sakura said as she held out a box. "And don't complain that it's not ramen," she added, trying to provoke a reaction from her teammate. Naruto didn't respond, seemingly distracted by some internal dialogue. The look of deep thought was vexingly out of place on the boy. "Oi! Naruto!" Sakura waved her hands in front of his face.

"Hm?" Naruto seemed to snap out of it. "Oh, sorry Sakura-chan," he apologized as he rubbed the back of his neck to divert his embarrassment. "But if it's okay with you, I think I'll pass, I could really use a nap," he said with a grin. With that, he got up with some effort and settled himself under the shade between thick roots protruding from the ground.

"You feeling alright, Naruto?" Sakura ventured, a little concerned.

"Fantastic!" he replied a little too loudly, flexing a bicep to prove it. "Guess working so hard on this mission really wore me out. But there's nothing a little sleep won't fix!" His teammates watched his grin melt away as he fell asleep.

Sakura blinked in disbelief. "Naruto never passes up food." She cast her eyes down absentmindedly at the rejected lunch. "He's been a little down lately hasn't he?"

Sasuke determinedly chewed at his food.

Already finished, Kakashi readjusted his mask and watched his students over his book.

-'-

They were soon on the road again, after Sasuke woke Naruto rudely with his foot. He got up grudgingly and took the lead, rubbing at his eyes, too groggy and distracted to make a fuss about the rough treatment. He was troubled about his performance earlier that morning. It had been sub-par even considering that it was their first real mission since he checked out of the hospital. _How long has it been?_ Naruto asked himself in frustration. _Almost three months?_ _I should have recovered by now. What's wrong with me?_

It's a question that's been plaguing his mind. He'd been feeling strangely empty, his usual inextinguishable energy and resolve all but disappeared, leaving him in a daze. He felt…wrong. And though he would never admit it to himself, he was worried. So in true Uzumaki fashion, he's been over-compensating by consciously acting like his old self: grinning a little too wide, laughing a little too forced, talking a little too loudly, and hurling insults at Sasuke—who has hardly said two words in return since the incident at the falls. It's been absolutely exhausting. And today, his usual endless chakra reserve had been spent so quickly, so wildly out of his control. The way his body reacted to Sasuke's blood…

His downcast eyes caught sight of a set of sandals as Sasuke silently fell into step besides him. Naruto mentally braced himself for an insult out of habit.

...But it didn't come, which oddly hurt more.

_Why won't he say anything? _Naruto didn't understand why things weren't back to normal and felt that somehow it was his fault. He had failed as a ninja somehow, failed as a teammate and as a friend. The scent of metallic stung his nose painfully and he glanced again at the bloody sandal. He felt hot and shivered. _I was protected again._ Naruto thought. _I'm still a liability. I promised myself that I would never need anyone to protect me._ An image of Sasuke collapsing in his arms on the bridge flashed across his mind. _Is my resolve so weak? Am I so weak?_ He hated these thoughts and he hated himself for having them. It's too unlike him. He shook his head in frustration. _Gah! W__hy does it hurt to think about? It's like my heart is suffocating, _Naruto thought, trying to grasp at his intangible muddle of emotions and musings. Suddenly, he couldn't breath.

It was so hot. Heat and pressure rushed upward as if a huge claw clamped down on his brain and squeezed. He clutched at his head, his vision growing hazy with the pain. It was then he registered the storm in his stomach. _These feelings…they weren't just physical…_Naruto's clouded mind searched for_…Kyuubi!_

Sasuke turned to face Naruto, who doubled over shaking with his fingers digging into his hair and the other hand clutching his middle. Sakura ran over to see what was wrong with Kakashi close behind.

"Stay back!" Naruto choked out.

_This chakra!_ Kakashi's eyes widened. He had never been this close before.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, unsure of what to do. Naruto pulsed with an energy that felt vaguely familiar and inexplicably frightening. _What the hell is going on? _His Sharingan blazed and he cursed himself for not having Hyuugan eyes instead.

Naruto fell to his knees, struggling.

"Sakura, Sasuke, stay back!" Kakashi commanded as the two young shinobi moved to help their teammate. The two turned to their sensei awaiting instructions.

_The chakra isn't as strong as the other times, but it's as wild as that first time with Zabuza's kid,_ Kakashi thought as he tried to analyze the situation_. But what's the trigger? _

Kakashi's silence seemed like an eternity to Sakura. When she couldn't bear listening to Naruto's suppressed cries anymore, she moved towards him again—to do what, she wasn't sure.

"Don't!" This time it was Sasuke's voice, a little more hoarse then usual. "You don't know what that's capable of!"

"But Sasuke-kun, how can we just stand here?" Sakura returned desperately. "Something's wrong! Aren't those who don't care for their friends worst than trash? We need to do something!"

"Sasuke's right," Kakashi countered, determinedly ignoring the reference to his own lesson, "a ninja doesn't enter a situation without information." Sakura hugged herself tightly, worried and agitated. Kakashi turned his eye back to the struggling boy_. I shouldn't tell them about the Nine-tails if I can help it. Naruto, get a hold of yourself!_

The tension between the team members broke when they heard Naruto gasp for breath.

As suddenly as it came, the strange chakra seemed to implode back into Naruto's body and he fell on his side from exhaustion. He stayed still on the ground, panting with his eyes half-lidded, grateful that the ground was solid beneath him. His teammates approached cautiously.

"Hey, Naruto? Are you okay?" Sakura hesitantly offered her hand.

"I'm fine" Naruto said brushing away her hand. "I can get up myself."

Sakura stepped back in surprise before growing angry._ That dummy! I was trying to be nice because I'm worried_! Her features softened as she watched Naruto shakily get on his feet and was reminded of the time Lee collapsed training at the hospital. _Why do boys have to be so stubborn?_ she thought sadly.

"Alright, if everything is ok, we should keep moving." Kakashi said lightly and turned towards the road. _That boy is in no mood to talk now, but how long should I wait? That was the Kyuubi's chakra I felt wasn't it? And, if the seal is unstable there could be trouble._ Kakashi glanced at his youngest student. _No, the sooner I confirm my suspicions the better._

"Sasuke, Sakura, stay here for a moment. Naruto, come with me."

Kakashi walked off the road with Naruto following reluctantly. When they were out of earshot of the others, Kakashi turned to his student.

"Now then, is there anything I should know about?"

Naruto knew this was coming. He took a breath to defiantly deny anything was wrong but "no" caught in his throat. He grew even more confused when try as he might, he couldn't seem to look Kakashi in the eye.

_This kid, of course he wouldn't acknowledge Kyuubi even if it were the case. He has endured so much stigma because of it._ Kakashi kneeled down to look Naruto squarely in the eyes. He had to have Naruto focus.

"Naruto, you're not in trouble. But if anything is out of the ordinary, let me know now. I won't judge you."

Naruto was bursting to say something, anything. He had kept every doubt, every fear, and every struggle inside. Yet then, and still, he resisted. A ninja does not show weakness. He could not show _them_ weakness. He stole a furtive glance over his shoulder at his teammates.

It did not escape Kakashi's keen eye.

"Naruto," Kakashi put his hands on his Naruto's shoulders, "Anything you say is just between us. You can trust me." Naruto involuntarily shuddered at the gentle contact and something shattered inside. A lump rose in his throat as his sensei continued, "If anything feels—"

"Nothing feels—!" Naruto blurted loudly, shocking himself, "—right." He finished in a hoarse whisper. Kakashi gave him a moment to recover.

"Go on."

"Just now, it felt like Kyuubi tried to take over." _That's what Kakashi-sensei wants right? That was the answer, right?_ Naruto gritted his teeth and tried not to think what was really bothering him.

_Just as I suspected, it is the Kyuubi no Kitsune,_ Kakashi thought. "Just now, what—?"

"I'm losing it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto interrupted. Kakashi furrowed his brow in concern as he felt the small boy tremble under his hand. "I don't—I don't think there's more of the…the demon in me. I think there's just… just…less of…me." The words spilled out beyond his control now that the floodgates were open. "Something's wrong and I don't know what it is. I feel all wrong. It's like…like…" Naruto was never good with words—especially when he desperately needed to use them. "…Like my body is alive but I'm not. I don't feel like myself at all. I feel like…like I've..." Naruto trailed off. He was shocked to feel his cheek wet and angrily wiped away the tear.

Kakashi was at a loss for what to do. He just wanted to know if it was the Kyuubi and to devise a strategy to deal with it. He hadn't expected his student to confide in him with such intimate information. But as he looked at the troubled boy he felt pity and a need to comfort him in a way he wish he could have for his important people before they had all left him.

-'-

"Sasuke-kun? What do you think they're talking about?"

Sasuke gave Sakura an annoyed glare. _You've got to be kidding,_ he thought. With his arms crossed, he looked back at the pair in the distance and nearly choked. Kakashi had just pulled Naruto into a hug.

Sakura expressed his sentiments exactly: "EEEEEEHHH?"

-'-

Surprised, Naruto let his arms hang at his side in silent rejection as Kakashi gave him an awkward hug. But Kakashi held him firmly as if reassuring Naruto that he was there for him and slowly the boy wrapped his arms around the jounin's shoulder blades. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Kakashi felt his shoulder dampen and wondered vaguely if he had it all wrong. _Could this be something in his head?_ By instinct, Kakashi's practical mind started analyzing the situation. He was no stranger to trauma and its effects. Only the barest details were reported regarding Naruto and Sasuke's stand-off, but if the stress on their bodies and their mutual silence around the taboo subject were any indication, it had to have been intense. _Disconnection from the self and losing awareness of the present are common symptoms...just now, did Naruto experience a flash-back? _Kakashi furrowed his brows trying to recall the recent event from memory. _No, the aura was weak, but I'm almost certain it was the Nine-tail's chakra I felt. Either way, this complicates things with the Kyuubi if Naruto doesn't have the mental strength to help contain it. I'll need to inform the sannin…_

Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Hey, no worries. I won't let my teammates suffer. Got it?"

Naruto's grip tightened on Kakashi's vest as two confused genin looked on.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 6: **Training. **Sasuke braced himself and faced the frog hermit.


	6. Training

-'-

**Chapter 6**

**Training**

-'-

It was sunset over Fire Country and the sky blushed brilliantly behind the Hokage's stone faces. A wizened man in rare moment of quiet contemplation nursed his sake. Looking over his cup, Jiraiya saw Team Seven enter the village gates. He downed the rest of his drink and left a few coins on the table.

"Yo!" Jiraiya approached and greeted the four with a grin and a wave. He stood with his hands on his hips. "Is it my turn to take these two already?"

"Come on now, Jiraiya-san," Kakashi said, returning the smile, "give these guys the night to recover won't you?"

"What's that? No wonder they still have a long way to go. You're too easy on them," Jiraiya jested. The sannin looked over at Naruto. "Hey kid, aren't you even going to greet your sensei?"

"Yo."

Jiraiya frowned slightly.

"Ah, but I'm their sensei for today," Kakashi said before Jiraiya could speak again. He turned to his team. "Take the night off guys."

"Okay! Good night Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama," Sakura replied and the three turned to their respective homes.

The two veteran ninja watched the kids grow smaller into the distance.

"You have something to say to me, Kakashi?"

Kakashi stayed silent for a moment before pulling his hands nonchalantly into his pockets.

"Well, I guess there's no helping it Jiraiya-san," the jounin said, "I'm a little worried about Naruto."

"Ah yes, aren't we all?"

"I'm serious."

"So am I, but go on."

"I thought I felt the Nine-tail's chakra from Naruto today."

"That's to be expected isn't it? I was the one who taught him to harness it." Jiraiya knew helping Naruto tap into the Kyuubi's chakra couldn't be common knowledge, or even a talking point amongst those who knew, but nevertheless, it irked Jiraiya slightly that no one acknowledged his part in Naruto's growing strength.

"Yes, but what I felt wasn't under his control. It caught him off guard and he fought against it." Kakashi looked up to the dimming sky. "The amount that Naruto emitted was slight, but the chakra signature was undoubtedly Kyuubi's." He paused. "And another thing." Kakashi made sure Jiraiya was still listening. "Naruto expressed a sense of detachment from himself. I suspect he may be struggling with some form of mental trauma. Has he said anything to you?"

"No…" The sannin folded his arms across his chest, contemplative. "But I wouldn't be surprised. He's been struggling more than usual with ninjutsu, which does require a high level of concentration. So we've been focusing on restoring his physical stamina for now." Jiraiya and Kakashi locked eyes. "I'll keep an eye out, kid."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-san." And with a nod, Kakashi disappeared into the night.

-'-

Sasuke trudged slowly back to his apartment. On days when he wasn't in a hurry he always took the side streets. It provided him solitude and steered clear of the Uchiha neighborhood where he used to live. Lately he's taken to even more obscure detours so he didn't have to encounter anyone on the street.

He hated the whispers of his betrayal to Konoha. Taunts that he didn't have the gall to go all the way. Eyes that incriminated him for attempting to kill a Leaf shinobi. _No_, he thought to himself, _for attempting murder_. _The murder of a friend. My only…_He couldn't finish the thought. In his life he never imagined that there could be something worse then be looked upon with sympathetic eyes, but now to be looked at with contempt and hate…he felt like a cold-hearted beast.

Of course it was all in his imagination. No one outside those directly involved in preventing his defection knew it had ever occurred. Information regarding the event was classified to protect the image of stability of the weakened shinobi force. But it didn't make it any less real in Sasuke's mind. Strangely, Sasuke almost wished people knew what he had done. It would be easier if someone—_anyone_—would blame him and lash out at him. He could deal with the physical, external world, easy. Dealing with the mental, internal world was never his strong point.

Sasuke was outside his door before he realized it. Exhaling, he turned the knob and entered the empty apartment. It was minimally furnished, unadorned and impersonal. He shivered a little at how cold it was inside. Leaning over a dresser to close the window, he paused to look at the back of a picture frame. His team photo. It took a while after leaving the hospital for him to even stand the frame upright. He still hasn't turned it back around.

Sasuke picked up the picture frame gingerly and flipped it over in his hands. Unbidden, an image of Naruto's hanging head and red, swollen eyes the journey home earlier that day flashed across his mind. The frame shook under his grip.

_What the hell is going on with you, idiot?_

-'-

Startled birds marred the dazzlingly clear morning sky.

_Whap!_

A kick struck the wooden training post in the clearing in the woods.

_Whap whap whack!_

Palm, fist, roundhouse.

Naruto fell into a stance and breathed hard_. _

_More. I have to push my limit. I have to get to where I can train with chakra again_. Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated_. I am not._

_ This. _

_Weak!_

He slammed a Rasengan into the post.

-'-

"Good. Let's do it again."

Chest heaving, Sasuke picked himself up off the ground. Jiraiya and Sasuke were training just out of sight of the clearing. Jiraiya found that Naruto was less distracted when he couldn't see him train Sasuke in more complex jutsu while he was assigned to basic skills.

Sasuke braced himself and faced the frog-hermit. _Where is it?_ Jiraiya had forbidden the Sharingan for genjutsu training and he couldn't discern with the naked eye how the sannin was casting the illusions. Suddenly Jiraiya rippled and faded like a mirage.

_Damn! At what moment…?_

Sasuke found himself surrounded by a dozen Jiraiyas throwing shuriken his way. Instinctively, Sasuke leapt up and deflected the attacks with his kunai. Metal met metal with a clang. _The shuriken were real. Is this for real?_ He pulled out several of his own shuriken and lodged it at the Jiraiyas. Three disappeared in a puff of smoke. _Kage bunshin._ Still airborne, Sasuke just barely noticed the sannin coming at him from beneath and quickly did a set of seals. _Katon: gokakyu no jutsu!_ He sent a huge fireball towards the sannin, who didn't dodge. Instead, several kunai shot out from the flame and smoke. Too late to counter, Sasuke raised his arms protectively to his face. A blade grazed his thigh, another grazed his upper arm.

Sasuke landed and grabbed the stinging wound on his arm. Blood trickled off his fingertips, but the corners of his lips tugged upward. _Hn, it's about time we did some real sparring. I have to grow stronger offensively if I'm ever going to beat that guy…_

Sasuke found himself in the clearing alone. _Where is he? Check Left. Right. Above. Behind? Below…What is THAT?_ Sasuke felt a strange, hot sensation crawl down his injured arm.

Sasuke looked down at his arm and blanched. The cut was growing, slithering down to his palm like a snake, his skin tearing and peeling off to reveal the glistening, bloody muscles underneath. Shaking, Sasuke saw the same was happening to his cut thigh.

Suddenly an army of black insects swarmed out of the surrounding woods and started devouring the skin that fell to the ground. The rest started to close in on Sasuke, who stood frozen in fear. By a saving grace he was distracted by a motion in his peripheral vision. Jiraiya had stepped out of hiding and now watched the genin with a serious face. It was then it dawned on Sasuke: his flesh peeling off didn't hurt nearly as much as it should._ This is genjutsu!_ He immediately clasped his hands together and concentrated.

_'With genjutsu, the attacker is controlling the chakra flow in your brain…' _Jiraiya's voice echoed in Sasuke's head. _'When caught in an illusion, you must disrupt this flow. Use the same control you developed in the tree walking and water walking exercises, but this time, rather than gathering chakra to one region, you are directing it away…'_

Sasuke felt the tickle on his calf as bugs started to crawl up his legs. He willed himself not to spasm and concentrate.

_'Rather than a constant flow you want an erratic flo_…aaahhHH!'

Sasuke clenched his jaw shut to keep himself from screaming out loud. His exposed leg was burning and he knew without looking that the bugs were starting to feed.

_It's just genjutsu, it's just genjutsu, _Sasuke repeated in his mind_. What else did that hermit say?_ Jiraiya's voice floated again out of his memories. _'If you're caught, someone from the outside can disrupt the flow for you. This is why working in a team is crucial against an enemy that uses genjutsu…'_

Sasuke couldn't think straight anymore. The bugs were climbing up his neck and threatening to enter his mouth. He instinctively tilted his chin to the sky as if breaking the surface of water. The burning and itching was becoming unbearable.

_Move!_ He commanded himself. _Move_…with a shaking hand he reached into his weapons pouch. _Move_…he pulled out a kunai. _MOVE!_

Sasuke's red eyes snapped open. He found himself panting in a cold sweat and it was a moment before he realized his knuckles were white around a kunai lodged in his thigh. He pulled it out with a grunt and sat down to bandage his self-inflicted wound, ignoring Jiraiya as he approached.

"Interesting," Jiraiya commented. "You remembered that events in the external world can affect the hold of a genjutsu and used that knowledge to get yourself out of a bind. I'll give you credit for that, kid. However, during training that's cheating. In a real situation you might need to resort to physical pain to get you out of a bind, but while we're training, your purpose is to learn to do it without injuring yourself. Got it?"

Sasuke listened to the lecture mildly annoyed. _I'm an avenger. I'm wasting my time learning these stupid defensive techniques. I just need to be stronger than that man…_

"Yeah, I understand. But I know enough to survive. What I really need is to get stronger and to develop my offensive." Sasuke paused. "Sir."

Jiraiya's eye twitched slightly. Sasuke was just as stubborn and single-minded as Naruto, but somehow the Uchiha rubbed him the wrong way. Naruto was rude and demanding in a way that belied his lack of guidance and social experience which the sannin found endearing. Sasuke's cool and forced politeness only exacerbated the feeling of disrespect emanating from the boy. He was arrogant. He reminded him of Orochimaru.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, brat. I'd be a poor teacher if I didn't develop your strengths." Sasuke looked at him incredulously.

Jiraiya's lips tightened. "What do you think that Sharingan is good for?"

_Punishment._

"The advantage of foresight and insight," he answered.

"And what's the advantage?"

_Is this guy seriously asking me these stupid questions?_

"Faster reaction and an understanding of the enemy's techniques to use to my advantage."

"For defense."

Jiraiya spoke as a teacher tired of waiting for the correct answer. Sasuke was slightly nonplussed.

"Listen carefully kid. Someone on the offensive attacks and predicts the counter attack. But the Sharingan…the Sharingan functions to see the attack first in order to facilitate the counterattack. The Sharingan's strength is in reacting, not acting." Jiraiya let the words sink into the Uchiha. "The Uchiha were the founders and keepers of Konoha's police force. They were our first line of defense and the keeper of order for a reason, Sasuke, not our offensive force."

Jiraiya watched as the boy in front of him stare at the ground and tighten his jaw. _WAS the police force_, Sasuke thought bitterly. But he had to admit that what the sannin said made sense, which only irked him more.

_Kami-sama, just let me work on other techniques already!_ The truth was that Sasuke hated feeling helpless and abhorred having things happen _to_ him. Flashes of his past flooded his mind. He had stood by and let his brother…no, he never wanted to feel helpless again. He would be calling the shots.

Offensive techniques. He could work on them, feel himself moving forward, see tangible results. It reinforced his strength. But defensive techniques? His sub-par performance just served to remind him how weak he was. Especially against genjutsu. Sasuke understood that they were working on genjutsu defense to protect himself against Itachi's attacks. In fact, it was he who requested it—he just didn't realize how much he would hate it. How much it made him hate himself. _Weak, weak, WEAK._

Jiraiya's audible sigh broke Sasuke's reverie. "But you've done good work today," Jiraiya said, picking up where he left off. The sannin crouched down deliberately into a fighting stance and smirked. "How about you just try and get a hit in?"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked right back as he dropped into position. He'd like nothing more than to take out some of his pent-up energy on his new idiot sensei who reminded him too much of Naruto.

Student and teacher charged at one another with fists poised. Sasuke swung. And nearly tripped. Launching himself from the ground with his other hand, Sasuke flipped and landed with a skid. _What the hell was that?_ Jiraiya had stopped too, both distracted by a huge surge of energy coming from another part of the woods. The silence was violently interrupted by a pained scream. Wordlessly, they both bounded towards the clearing where Naruto was training.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 6: **Hurting My Friend**. This time his eyes weren't taunting; they were filled with pure hatred.


	7. Hurting My Friend

-'-

**Chapter 7**

**Hurting My Friend**

-'-

Sasuke and Jiraiya flew swiftly through the trees and spotted a small orange form on the floor of the clearing through the foliage. Unconsciously, both sped up, not knowing what to expect.

The clearing was undisturbed and empty save Naruto, who was crouched low on all fours. If it weren't for the scream and the burst of chakra just moments before, the situation wouldn't have seemed like anything more than a normal training session. Student and teacher landed and approached cautiously.

"Hey, you…?" Sasuke never finished his question. He didn't even have time to register Naruto raising his head to reveal bared fangs and red eyes when Sasuke felt himself flung backwards into a tree. He fell to the ground more in shock than in pain.

Sasuke heard a feral yell and looked up to find Naruto in the air coming down at him with another attack. He steeled himself to block when Jiraiya jump-kicked Naruto away.

Jiraiya was now dodging violent swipes of Naruto's claw-like hands, a little surprised that he was actually working up a sweat and more than a little concerned at the ferocity of the attacks.

"Oi! Naruto! It's me and Sasuke! Snap out of it!" _Shit, how can I subdue him without hurting him?_ he thought. Suddenly, Naruto disappeared.

Jiraiya quickly scanned his surroundings. "Where…?" He felt something beneath him and looked down too late. A fist connected with the sannin's chin and sent Jiraiya flying. He gathered his bearings and flipped in midair, landing on one knee. Several kunai tied to wires flew by uncomfortably close to his face.

The wires bound Naruto, who tripped and fell to the ground on his stomach. Sasuke jerked the wires tight as Jiraiya ducked and rolled out from underneath. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Sasuke yelled at his teammate. Naruto lifted his head and Sasuke finally saw it: Naruto's entire countenance possessed an animalistic quality. If it were possible, the marks on Naruto's cheeks and his canines seemed more prominent than it had ever been. But Sasuke was fixated on the eyes. They were fiery-red. Just like that time in the Forest of Death…

_'Are you ok? Scaredy-cat?'_

But this time his eyes weren't taunting; they were filled with pure hatred.

Naruto somehow got onto his feet as he struggled against the wires that bound his arms to his side. Sasuke could sense a potent chakra start to swirl around Naruto. The feline eyes never broke eye-contact with Sasuke and Naruto…grinned.

Sasuke's dark eyes went wide with realization. _He's not targeting us. He's targeting…me!_ He pulled on the wires again and held them taut with his teeth to free up his hands to form seals. Naruto snapped his bonds and rushed at Sasuke. _Katon: gokakyu no justu!_ Sasuke sent a blaze down the wires still floating to the ground. Naruto ran through the inferno without singeing a hair and pounced.

"Weak. Where's the intent to kill now, Sasuke-_chan_?"

The voice was rough, the tease dripping with bitterness and malice. The words hit Sasuke in the pit of his stomach. Distracted, Sasuke dodged a swipe a split second too slow and sharp claws surrounded by burning chakra nicked him under the ribcage. It was enough to send Sasuke flying and crashing to the ground.

Jiraiya rushed at the possessed boy as red chakra that could now be seen with the naked eye started to bubble and envelop Naruto. _I didn't think I would have to use these so soon…_

"NARUTO!" the old man screamed. The boy turned and a paper seal slammed onto his forehead.

Almost instantly, Naruto's vulpine face returned to normal, his dulled blue eyes drooped. He fell forward on his hands and knees, panting.

Naruto felt completely exhausted and disoriented and didn't know why. _What happened? It's so hot_. He reached up to wipe his brow and his fingers grazed a piece of paper on his forehead. He pulled it off. '_Seal_.' It was just like the one that was in front of Kyuubi's cage…

_Shit!_ With a quick intake of breath, Naruto jerked his head up, sending another wave of dizziness through his head. Jiraiya and Sasuke kept their distance watching him warily. They both looked worse for wear and Sasuke breathed heavily despite his collectedness. There were now two bandages around his thigh, one with blood seeping through from a fresh wound. A tear on his signature blue shirt was burnt around the fringes. Beneath, the exposed flesh was an angry purple-red.

Black eyes met blue.

Naruto backed himself into a training post, mortified. He didn't need to remember to figure out what had happened. The crumpled seal grew damp in Naruto's perspiring hand. _His eyes. It's just like all the villagers. _He clenched his jaws down so tight it could have snapped and willed the welling tears from falling.

Jiraiya and Sasuke watched with bated breath as Naruto reached behind to his weapons pouch. Slowly and hesitantly, Naruto drew out a kunai. Sasuke gritted his teeth and adjusted his battle stance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jiraiya do the same. _His body language is different, but is he still not himself?_ he wondered as he tried to anticipate the first move. _He's shaking. Is he even controlling his own body?_ _What'sit gonna be? _

Sasuke waited as Naruto gripped the weapon blade-down with both hands and bring it up painfully slow. _What kind of move is he planning? _Just then a flash of pain coursed from the wound on his side and Sasuke involuntarily winced. Naruto saw and his frightened eyes changed to the familiar one of stubborn resolution. He shut them tight and yelled, swinging down the blade.

_Bam!_ Suddenly, Jiraiya slammed Naruto against the post, pressing his thick forearms on his student's throat and pinning the kunai-bearing hand above the blond's head. With a twist, the blade fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"Idiot! Is that what you want? Huh? You think there's any honor in that?" Jiraiya was livid. His tone reminded Sasuke instantly of an angry parent. "It's a poor way to repay those who gave their lives for you."

Sasuke's eyes grew wide. He understood now. He stared hard at the ground without seeing anything and his body shook.

_Crash! Thwump. _

Sasuke doesn't remember barreling through the training post with Naruto. In an emotional adrenaline-high he hadn't felt since the battle at the falls, he felt completely outside of himself. It wasn't his arms pinning the shoulders of a struggling Naruto to a tree. It wasn't his voice screaming at his comrade.

"What the hell is the matter with you? The Naruto I know would never be such a coward! What's changed, huh?" Naruto's eyes were wide with fear, like a trapped animal's. He writhed wildly under Sasuke's hold on survival instincts alone. Now guilt topped off the barrage of emotions storming in Sasuke. He tightened his grip.

"Sasuke! That's enough!" But Sasuke ignored the sannin if he heard him at all.

Naruto winced with one eye closed and said nothing. It was driving Sasuke mad.

"Answer me, damn it!" _I could be your friend, or I can be your worst nightmare._ Sasuke's eyes were now stinging and watering to alleviate the pain. _I hate him. This is the second time he's made me cry._ He felt Naruto stop squirming under his hand and noted curiously despite his rage that Naruto's pupils dilated. The blond stopped breathing and just as Sasuke was about to panic Naruto pitched forward and gasped.

Sasuke didn't have time to feel relieved though. For the second time that day a scream pierced the woods.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 8: **What Dreams May Come.** They were the spirit of the dead.


	8. What Dreams May Come

-'-

**Chapter 8**

**What Dreams May Come**

-'-

Naruto heard screaming. It sounded far away at first, hardly perceptible, but it grew louder and louder. He could make out yelling, crashing, and the crackle of fire as the noises grew louder and more chaotic. Naruto looked through the eyes of a stranger and saw red.

It was the red of a blazing fire devouring buildings and licking the dark sky of Konoha. It was the red of dark blood oozing out of bodies strewn dead and dying on the dirty ground. It was the red of a powerful chakra emanating visibly from his own body.

His own body.

Naruto was in the body of the fox.

It was a frightening sensation: he was aware of two minds, of two souls - his and the beast's - at once. He felt weightless without his natural human body, the one he embodied made entirely of chakra and ill intent. Yet the ground shook at every step and every swipe of a tail. He watched through cruel, laughing eyes as buildings collapsed and people were tossed and torn to shreds. Inside, Naruto screamed for the beast to stop until it was just screaming. The carnage seems to continue for days.

But what frightened him the most was that he liked it.

It was becoming harder and harder to tell where his mind stopped and where the Kyuubi started. He couldn't tell if he was mortified or exhilarated. He didn't know if he was screaming for everything to stop or screaming for more.

He idly wondered when everything had turned to shades of red and gray.

It grew dark.

Naruto suddenly found himself human again, sitting on his haunches in black emptiness. Yet somehow he was illuminated. Naruto looked at his clawed hands and felt uncomfortably foreign in his human form.

Iruka appeared a little ways off as if under a spotlight. He lay on his side, propping himself up with an arm. His ankle was torn and was visibly in pain. Naruto took a step forward.

_Tap. _

"Naruto." Iruka smiled with his eyes closed despite the pain. "I'm so glad you're here."

_Tap._

"Naruto?"

_Tap._

_Tap…_

Naruto crouched down, cocked his head and looked at Iruka curiously with feline eyes. A menacing grin spread across his face.

He saw Iruka shake. His wide, frightened eyes were locked on Naruto's.

"Ge-get away!"

Something stirred in the pit of Naruto's stomach. He was becoming extremely excited by the chuunin's fear.

_NO!_ another part of Naruto protested feebly as it faded away. Slowly and deliberately Naruto placed a hand on Iruka's torso and felt it convulse under his touch. He kept eye contact to make sure Iruka acknowledged who he was. He was Naruto. It was Naruto who was ripping up his stomach and letting the viscera spill out messily around him.

Naruto stood up, looking down at the chuunin as he screamed until his diaphragm gave out. He watched as his precious sensei panted in pain and his muscles convulsed. He watched his breathing slow as the crimson life trickled out and stained his mousey hair as it pooled around his body. He watched the three hours it took for Iruka to die. And he watched smiling.

-'-

In the clearing, Sasuke hitched his breath in surprise and fear at the boy screaming beneath his hold. His anger melted into confusion.

_...the hell? _

-'-

One by one, the people Naruto knew appeared around him.

Kiba.

Choji.

Hinata.

Konohamaru.

Naruto tore at their flesh and bit at their necks.

Neji.

Shikamaru.

Tsunade.

Jiraiya.

The black emptiness rang with the cries of his friends.

He killed each one, sometimes torturously slow, reveling in his victim's pleas for death as he dug his hand into their wounds. Sometimes they were dead before they hit the floor, warm blood dyeing the darkness red.

Kakashi.

Sakura.

...Sasuke.

Blood dripped off Naruto's claws as he stood over Sasuke's head, watching him lay dying. Their eyes locked, one shining bright in horror and confusion, the other glazed and dulled with cold indifference. Sasuke tried to speak, but words were lost in a gargle of blood. Naruto knelt over the boy's head and leaned in close until hot coppery breath blew at Sasuke's ears.

"Don't you remember Sasuke? There's no need for words."

Pin-wheeled eyes widened with horror as Naruto plunged his thumbs into the eye sockets. Sasuke screamed and choked, his mangled hands clawing at Naruto's. The Kyuubi-boy held the Uchiha down, thumbs in his sockets, hands over his nose and mouth as Sasuke's body writhed and bucked on the ground. Naruto held him there long after the body stilled and turned cold.

-'-

It had taken Jiraiya a moment to register what had happened. Sasuke had tackled Naruto and pinned him up against a tree across the clearing. The sannin was halfway to his students when suddenly Naruto had started screaming and bucking against the trunk. In a flash, Jiraiya appeared besides Sasuke, who seemed frozen in fear.

His eyes were blood red.

-'-

Naruto suddenly jerked backwards as if he was being pulled violently from behind and slammed into a pole. His arms crashed spread eagle on either side and he felt ropes bind his wrists. Suddenly he was burning from the inside out. He heard the deep feral roar of the fox in his ears as Kyuubi was rent from his body. And then he was empty, panting and sweating and sore. After an eternity, Naruto lifted his heavy head and opened his eyes. It would have been blue if everything hadn't been red.

A mob of people were slowly advancing. His friends, his comrades; people he recognized from the village. He almost smiled at the sight of them when he realized none of them had legs. Their bodies trailed off into a wispy tail as they floated nearer. They were the spirits of the dead.

Memories flooded violently into Naruto's mind. As if standing outside himself, he saw himself terrorizing the village and killing people. He saw the sadistic pleasure on his face as he tortured his friends to death. But Kyuubi abandoned him. Naruto was alone, the missing half of his soul replaced with the full weight of guilt and horror.

_Everyone..._

One by one the dead took turns impaling Naruto with swords and clubbing him with blunt weapons as he hung helpless on a crucifix.

"Wish you were never born."

"Naruto, how could you?"

"I was a fool to trust you."

_It's all my fault. _

His body refused to die. Even without Kyuubi his wounds sizzled as it healed and the black bruises dissipated almost as soon as it appeared. Yet the pain lingered and his battered body throbbed.

"You really believe that we could choose our fate? Then, I guess you chose to be a monster who kills his comrades."

Naruto looked up in time to see Neji before a fist connected gracelessly with his face.

A hot slap came across his cheek. "You promised." Sakura plunged a kunai into Naruto's stomach.

"I guess I was wrong." Naruto looked into Iruka's disappointed eyes, his own tear-stained ones pleading for forgiveness. Iruka turned his back and moved away.

_I am a monster. I deserve this. _

"Why didn't you notice sooner? I needed you to help me."

Naruto shivered in horror as he now stared into the sockets where Sasuke's eyes should have been. "I'm so s_—_"

"Shut up, loser!"

Naruto saw an electric glow beneath him and heard the screaming of birds. "It doesn't matter," Sasuke smirked maliciously, "We were never friends anyway."

Naruto felt a burning through his chest.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 9: **Dominos. **Tsunade was surprised it was an Uchiha who bursted through her door.


	9. Dominos

-'-

**Chapter 9**

**Dominos**

-'-

"Sasuke! Let go!"

Sasuke snapped out of his trance at Jiraiya's voice and stumbled back, releasing Naruto's shoulders. The blond slumped to the ground with a thud and the forest was silent again save Sasuke's heavy breathing.

Naruto sat with his back propped up by the trunk; his head hung low on his chest, his eyes half open, dull and blank. His mouth hung slightly open.

Sannin and Uchiha approached cautiously, Sasuke willing his breathing to calm.

"Na-Naruto?"

A soft breeze tousled the blond locks.

"I don't think he can hear us, kid."

Sasuke abandoned his usual collected countenance and looked at Jiraiya desperately.

"What the hell just happened?"

Jiraiya's gaze lingered on Sasuke for a moment as if recalling a memory before turning back to Naruto's prone form.

"Naruto…He looks a lot like how you were that time…at the inn…"

_How I was? What does that mean?_ Sasuke gaped a little at the cryptic comment, searching his mind for what the sannin could mean. _When were we…?_ Suddenly Sasuke saw his brother standing in the corridor of the inn, pinning him against the wall, whispering in his ear: _'You don't have enough…hate.'_ He remembered pin-wheeled eyes and begging for his nightmare to end. _Impossible!_

Sasuke's jaw hardened. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?"

"Itachi!" Sasuke's rage was threatening to explode as only the thought of his brother could invoke. "Where the hell is he?"

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "He's not responsible for this." Sasuke waited for him to continue. "I'm just suggesting that Naruto was subjected to a powerful genjutsu…Sasuke."

"Who—?" Sasuke froze, understanding the implication of the sannin's statement. "You—you'd think I'd do something like that to that clumsy idiot?" he sputtered, pointing emphatically at blond.

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Jiraiya watched as Sasuke dropped his hands to his sides, his fists shaking. His head hung low so that his dark locks obscured his face. Jiraiya's expression softened and he sighed. _That kid…he doesn't know?…Maybe I was too harsh._ He knelt down so Sasuke could see him.

"Hey. I'm sorry kid. That was uncalled for." Sasuke didn't answer. "I'm not sure what just happened, but the important thing is that it's stopped." They both glanced over to their still unconscious teammate. "Let me check for additional injuries. Then we'll get you both to the hospital." Jiraiya gave Sasuke what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. We've got Tsunade-hime after all and she's one of the Legendary Sannin. And to be grouped with me, the Great and Powerful Master Jiraiya the Toad Hermit, is saying something!" Jiraiya gesticulated theatrically and Sasuke sweat-dropped, the tense mood momentarily lifted.

"Alright! Let's get to it then." Carefully, Jiraiya cradled Naruto into his arms and as gently as his big hands allowed, made to lay him on the grass.

"Huh..uhg!" Naruto's eyes squeezed shut and his body lurched, his back arching and fingers twitching in a spasm. Jiraiya nearly dropped him in surprise. As quickly as it came, the boy's body relaxed again, his torso falling back on the grass, his head lolled to one side.

_What? Can it be…?_ Jiraiya unzipped Naruto's jacket in a flash and lifted the faded black tee underneath. His eyes widened in disbelief: Naruto's abdomen was clean; the seal was invisible_. It's not the Kyuubi? _

Again, Naruto's body arched off the ground. "Aargh!"

Jiraiya splayed his hand on Naruto's stomach, his ears against the boy's chest. He wasn't a medical expert, but he knew enough and he didn't like what he found. He jerked his head up urgently. "I think he's still caught in the genjutsu and whatever he's experiencing mentally is somehow manifesting itself physically. We're dealing with internally inflicted injuries." He addressed Sasuke, who had fallen on his hands and knees next to his teammate.

_Still caught_? "Oi! Hey loser! Wake up!" Sasuke shook Naruto's shoulders. The blond clamped his eyes shut and grimaced at the unseen pain. "Wake up, goddammit!" Sasuke shut his eyes in frustration. _I can't do anything. If there was an enemy I could…_ "Wake the fuck up!" He raised his fists, ready to clock the stupid boy in the face.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned to the sannin. "I need you to find Tsunade. Fill her in and have her ready at the hospital. Stat!"

Sasuke gave a sobering nod and disappeared.

-'-

The air whistled around Sasuke's ears as he flew, his legs burning.

'_You don't have enough…hate.'_

Jiraiya's stern, accusing gaze flashed in Sasuke's mind. His brows furrowed. _There's no way, right? I was just angry. You can't cast genjutsu without knowing it. Bastard sannin._ He recalled the strange breakdown after the mission yesterday and the unnaturally red, feline eyes he saw just moments before. _Something's going on with Naruto – it's not my fault._ Yet an uncomfortable weight settled in the pit of his stomach as he sped to Hokage Tower.

-'-

Tsunade idly twiddled her ink brush, her head resting on her knuckles. _Three A-rank missions completed. Team Kuranai reported in with a completed C-rank mission this morning. A B-rank mission aborted with two injured. Jeez, what I wouldn't give for some sake right now. _

The sannin's boredom was interrupted by a commotion just outside the hallway. The sound of footsteps and shouting grew louder. But even after bracing herself, she was surprised that it was an Uchiha who burst into her office with chuunin guards close behind.

"Hokage-sama!" Sasuke struggled with the chuunin who held his arms back. "Hokage-sama! It's Naruto!"

"Release him!"

The genin nearly stumbled forward from his freedom. "It's Naruto," he gasped, drawing in air painfully as the stitch in his side aggravated his injury. "Please! Come to the hospital."

-'-

Jiraiya heard the door behind him burst open and found himself on the cold hospital floor as Tsunade shoved him to get to the hospital bed.

"Any new developments?"

Jiraiya stood up slowly, rubbing his sore rump. "None. Naruto's body reacts sporadically to something. From what I can infer, he was under genjutsu and there's some internal damage, but I can't be sure that the two are connected."

Tsunade grunted in the affirmative. "They are." The medic's palm was hovering over Naruto's body. "I've never seen anything like it. Most genjutsu is used to cause psychological damage, or to immobilize the victim while physical damage is inflicted upon them from the outside." Tsunade glanced up at Jiraiya and Sasuke's concerned faces, both listening with rapt attention. She allowed a small smile to grace her lips. "Don't look so worried you two. It's nothing I can't fix."

"What can you tell us about Naruto's condition, Tsunade?"

Continuing her treatment, Tsunade tried to put her observations into words without losing concentration. "As you know, genjutsu works on all five senses and creates an alternate reality experienced by the victim in their mind. However, most genjutsu disorients by creating situations to cause confusion and fear. Whatever technique Naruto is under, the disrupted chakra patterns of the jutsu which attack the mind is also sending signals to retroactively stimulate pain receptors and the nerves, causing his body to react physically. There's no actual damage to the organs besides fatigued muscles from the spasms, but the pain is real. What's even more strange is that the genjutsu is continuing, albeit weaker, even after the source is cut off, meaning that the suffering can go on indefinitely until someone or the victim themselves releases the jutsu." Tsunade's pressed her lips into a thin line. "How inhumane."

Her two listeners remained silent, Jiraiya nodding soberly and Sasuke staring hard at Naruto.

"Anyway," she continued, "once the jutsu is released and the normal chakra flow is restored, everything should be fine." Even as she spoke, Naruto's inert body seemed to revive. "There."

A blue eye peeked open and blearily tried to adjust to the brightness. Naruto couldn't quite seem to focus, his vision oscillating between bright light and green and the black and red of the nightmare that had become his reality for so long. Spirit-Sasuke approached again. _'Why didn't you acknowledge my pain sooner?' _

"Naruto?" The real Sasuke's voice was small, yet hinted of relief.

Naruto felt weak and very tired. A very different disturbance rumbled in the pit of his stomach. In his disoriented state, he couldn't place it, but it was too familiar for comfort. His breathing became labored and his skin started to glow with perspiration. He shut his eyes again and heard the voice echo in the hollow of his mind. _'Why did you stop me? You've left me with nothing…how dare you call me your friend…'_

"Hokage-sama?"

"It's just a side-effect from being under the jutsu so long," Tsunade answered Sasuke without looking up. With a serious expression, Godaime leaned over Naruto.

"Naruto."

He breathed hard.

"Naruto, who did this to you?"

Naruto shivered and strained slightly, and a strangled sound came out of his throat as he struggled to speak. Mentor, sister, teammate, the three waited with bated breath.

"Ssa…suke…"

Sasuke's heart crashed to the bottom of his stomach, but Naruto wasn't finished…

"…I'm…I'm sorry."

_What?_

"Naruto, can you hear me?" Tsunade said a little louder, the boy's physical reactions starting to worry her. "Naruto!"

Naruto opened his eyes slightly and seemed to see Tsunade for the first time. "Kyu…kyuu…aaaggh…aaair!" Naruto's heels dug into the bed, his fingers gripped and clawed at the sheets. _So hot…I can't breathe…_

Tsunade's brown eyes went wide with realization.

"Sasuke! Find Shizune, Nurse Momiko, and Yamada and have them report to emergency room B immediately!" In full battle mode, Tsunade scooped Naruto into her arms. "Jiraiya, I need you. NOW!"

The sannin disappeared in a flurry of activity and left Sasuke disoriented in the empty room.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 10: **Confessions**.


	10. Confessions

-'-

**Chapter 10**

**Confessions**

-'-

A raven-haired teen sat on the edge of a pier, letting his sandaled toes dip idly into the water. It was an uncommonly beautiful afternoon and heartbreakingly peaceful at the lake.

If Uchiha Sasuke took in any of it, it didn't show. He seemed to be looking somewhere beyond the ripples at this feet as his stormy mind wandered to the battle between him and Naruto just a few months ago.

_'You're actually serious about this…damn it…' _

_'Yeah I'm serious. I intend to kill you…' _

Confusion and hurt had shone clearly in those blue eyes. Much clearer in retrospect.

_I was serious then…because I believed I had to, _he thought._ That loser was the only one who fit the requirement. _

Sasuke saw himself kneeling on the water's surface with his hands over his eyes. _But when I thought I ki—he died, it…my body just reacted. What was that feeling? What is _this _feeling?_

He glanced at the water's surface now, watching as the ripples became calm and reform his reflection. He usually avoided the water's edge the same reason he didn't keep mirrors in his apartment. In the water he saw his brother.

'_When you have the same eyes as I, come before me…'_

Sasuke felt his self-loathing building in his chest and willed himself to continue to look at his reflection as if he was punishing himself.

'_I don't understand…why you…but I don't regret it…coming after you,' _Naruto had said.

_Why?_

It took his best friend dying at his hands for him to realize the irrationality of his decision. It took his best friend dying at his hands for him to realize that he had one.

'_You know, Sasuke…you're strong. There…others are strong…Just…don't go to Orochimaru. You…you have a dream to fulfill…Don't you die...' _

_Why?_ Sasuke gripped at his dark locks with both hands, remembering Naruto pulling himself out of the water after he thought he had done the deed. _Damn him. I couldn't do it again._

Soon, his wandering mind flashed through recent rehabilitation and training sessions, his loud teammate annoying him by talking about saying anything and everything. Everything except acknowledge the confrontation. The thought only made the Sasuke tighten his grip on his hair.

_Why?_

Sasuke didn't understand what had happened that morning. He could not fathom how Naruto got caught in a genjutsu. He couldn't explain why the pain didn't stop after it was released.

He sure as hell didn't understand why Naruto apologized to him.

He couldn't explain it, and he couldn't explain why he felt so sore and awful, but one thing was certain: _I couldn't do anything. I can't ever do anything. I'm a pathetic monster…a monster…like…_

His reflection leered at him and not for the first time, the icy-cold stung at his body as he shattered the image.

-'-

The hallway outside the emergency room was filled with a heavy silence. Jiraiya sat with his arms crossed on one of the benches that lined the wall. Across the way stood Kakashi, his hands deep in his pockets, his visible eye focused somewhere beyond the blank wall he faced.

The red light pinged off. Both sensei looked up expectantly as the door softly clicked open and a haggard Tsunade slipped out. She leaned back to close the door and rested a bit without acknowledging the two waiting. Finally, she said: "He's in stable condition."

Tsunade tried to give the two people who cared as much as she did about Naruto a smile, but her lips quivered at the attempt. Instead, her face contorted unattractively and she choked out a sob. A stream of tears lined her cheeks. Tsunade was about to let herself slide to the floor when she felt a strong arm slip around her shoulders. She gripped at the vest of her old friend and pressed her chest into his.

"I was so scared."

For once, Jiraiya didn't think a single perverted thought.

-'-

Sasuke watched the colors of the setting sun dance on the water like a million shards of broken glass. He sat on the knoll near the pier, his clothes since dry if somewhat stiff. Everything was still a little numb.

He heard sandaled feet paddle softly on the grass and stop beside him. The brooding boy didn't bother to look up.

"He's okay," he heard Kakashi's voice say.

Sasuke thought he grunted in acknowledgement.

"Jiraiya told me what happened."

Sasuke continued to stare at his hands in silence.

Kakashi looked down onto his troubled student, wondering what his sensei would say at this moment. What _Obito _would say.

"You know," Kakashi began, looking out into the water, "Naruto's not the kind of guy who abandons his friends. I think the best thing, is to do the same, and just be there for him."

Sasuke made no sign that he heard and after a moment, Kakashi let out an inaudible sigh and very slowly walked away.

-'-

Konoha was still. A bright moon hung high in the night sky and the crickets chirped their nocturnal song. The hallways of Konoha Hospital were silent and empty, at once calm and eerie with only the moonlight to mark the hall.

Naruto slept soundlessly in his hospital room.

With a slight creak, the door swung open and a dark figure wordlessly slipped in, casting a long shadow on the floor and onto the bed. The door closed with a soft click.

Sasuke stood there in silence, taking in the scene before him. Naruto's face was pale in the soft moonlight that filtered through the translucent curtains. His arm was hooked up to an IV. The monitor pulsed quietly in the corner.

Sasuke's dark eyes continued to rest on Naruto's prone form, watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Sasuke's graceful brows gradually stitched itself into a furrow and suddenly he found his jaw sore from gritting his teeth and his fists shaking at his side.

"I never asked for your help!" Sasuke surprised himself with the outburst.

Naruto responded with silence.

"You hear me, you moron?" Sasuke's voice sounded strained as he tried to control his voice. "You think you know me? What the hell do you understand? You never had a family!"

Sasuke swallowed hotly as Naruto's unconscious body continued to ignore him. _Why would you go so far for me?_

"I'm not sorry for what I did, you know." His voice was growing louder, but he took no heed. "I don't need you or anyone else. I have my ambition. It's all I have and all I need."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched slightly, the presence of the IV annoying him to no end.

"What could you do anyway, you fucking hypocrite? I thought you never gave up; you never stay down. Look at you! You can't even take care of yourself!"

Sasuke felt the hot tension pent up inside his chest slowly drain away, leaving him empty and tired. He let his breath steady and the silence settle in the room again as he observed the moonlight play in Naruto's hair. He lowered himself heavily onto the bedside chair and rested his forehead on the edge of the mattress, letting his dark bangs splay messily on the white sheets.

His slender hand found its way atop the cool one of his comrade and unconsciously wrapped his fingers around it.

"I don't need your help," he whispered with tired eyes, "and I sure as hell don't need your forgiveness."

Sasuke thought he felt a squeeze.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 11: **Good Morning**. Team Seven and a hospital room.


	11. Good Morning

-'-

**Chapter 11**

**Good Morning**

-'-

It was a bustling morning in Konoha. The outdoor vendors enthusiastically sung their wares and busy Leaf denizens went about their morning errands. Sakura and Ino were strolling down the dirt road, a bag of groceries each, enjoying their day off from training.

"So everything is going well training with Tsunade-sama?"

"Yeah…" Sakura answered, "Actually, I've been mainly working under Shizune-san's supervision. I'm still not at the level where Godaime will instruct me herself exclusively."

"_Jeez,_ you shouldn't complain, Miss Forehead. I mean, _Godaime_ is willing to train you for crying out loud! I'm totally jealous!"

Sakura smiled proudly, ignoring the 'Miss Forehead' comment. It was good to have Ino as a friend again.

"No, really! I think it's great that the Legendary Sannin has taken a shine to your team. I mean, sure, I know I'm incredible, but I'm stuck with the Number One Lazy Coward and Barbeque Pork Face." Ino made imitative gestures of her teammates, making Sakura laugh.

"So Chouji's back to normal?"

"Yeah, more or less. Back to his normal weight anyways. That guy sure knows how to rebound. I'd hate to say it, but he looked pretty decent while he was recovering. We're all meeting at Yakiniku Barbeque in a few days too, which won't help." Ino's blue eyes rolled exaggeratedly. "My boys are hopeless."

"Oh come on, they can't be that bad. Shikamaru is the only one of us to make chuunin after all."

"Yeah, and he couldn't even do that right! He totally gave up remember? He should have ended it with a super-cool move or at least a dynamic pose!" Ino mimed karate chops and posed dramatically, letting her grocery bag swing.

"He's got cool moves?"

Ino blinked at Sakura, still frozen in her pose, and then they both broke into giggles.

After a moment, a familiar figure coming down the street caught Sakura's attention.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted and waved.

"Oh, good morning Sakura," Kakashi greeted. His mask crinkled from a smile.

"You're out early. Kakashi-sensei, are you only late for our meetings?" Sakura pouted.

"Ah…well, I had a meeting this morning and I wasn't the one who called it," he shrugged.

Sakura absentmindedly noticed than that Kakashi didn't have his favorite novel in hand. Not bothering to draw conclusions, Sakura glanced towards Ino and moved to leave.

"Well, alright then. See you tomorrow Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura felt his eye on her and she lingered slightly, letting him get his word in.

"About that…"

Sakura stopped and faced him again, wondering what he'd say.

"Seems that Naruto landed himself in the hospital during training yesterday. We won't be meeting tomorrow."

Sakura blinked. "Is he okay?"

Kakashi looked at the sky_. Who knows? _He settled on a non-committal, "You know Naruto," and walked away.

Sakura and Ino watched his back for a bit before Ino spoke up: "Does he always seem stoned?"

"INO!"

-'-

Tsunade sat at her desk resting her chin on her linked fingers, trying to ignore her fatigue as she eyed Jiraiya seriously.

"You're absolutely sure?"

"I know what I saw." Jiraiya leaned on the opposite wall, his thick arms crossed over his chest. "I consulted Kakashi too, drew him a picture and everything. He confirmed it. Though…" Jiraiya trailed off.

"Though...?"

"Well, he said it's a form he's never seen before." The hermit seemed perplexed and rubbed his wild hair with one palm out of habit.

"Maybe you just can't draw."

The frog-hermit shook a fist at Tsunade. "Hey! I'm being serious!"

Tsunade smiled wryly at her old friend. "Well, you can't. That's why you write, isn't it?" Her smile melted into one of seriousness again. "Do we know how it was acquired?"

"No." He shook his head. "Kakashi may be a genius, but his experience isn't exactly what you call conventional. In this case it's more complicated then simple necessity." Jiraiya placed his hands on his hips. "With something this rare and powerful, it's likely a well-guarded secret."

"I agree." The Hokage rose with determination glinting in her eyes. "We'll figure this out." _And for their sake, I hope we're wrong._

-'-

_I hope Naruto's all right. Must be more of Jiraiya-sama's unconventional training methods _thought Sakura, modifying the colorful language Naruto used to complain about the toad-hermit's teaching navigated her way to an area of the hospital she hadn't been to before. _Heh, or Naruto just did something stupid, he's such a klutz! _she convinced herself, alleviating her own worry somewhat. She determinedly tried not to think about their latest mission.

At long last she found the room. Remembering her hospital etiquette, she rapped lightly on the closed door. There was no answer_. I wonder if he's run away again?_ Very gently, she turned the door knob and opened the door a crack to peer inside.

She suppressed a small gasp of surprise. She'd recognize that back anywhere, even if the Uchiha clan symbol didn't give him away. She found Sasuke sitting hunched over, his head resting on the edge of the bed, his face turned towards the door. Sakura instinctively retreated, closing the door a slightly for having intruded before she realized that Sasuke seemed oblivious to her presence. Gathering courage, she opened the door wider for a better look.

_Sasuke-kun's…asleep?_ His back rose and fell evenly and his dark bangs partially obscured his face. Sakura could just make out something glistening along the edge of his nose. Her eyes followed the lines of his arm…

"Sakura."

The konoichi nearly jumped. Tsunade approached purposefully and swung the door wide to enter, her green robe billowing behind her. Sasuke jerked awake and quickly stood up to face the intruder. It was then he suddenly felt aware of something and turned the other way, wiping at his face.

"Pardon me Sasuke-kun. I've come to check on Naruto." She sat where Sasuke was a moment before and placed her hand gently on the blond's forehead. "Is there any sign of him?" she whispered to herself. Sasuke watched them from the corner of his eyes and stuck his hands deep in his pockets.

"There was a sign…last night."

"Oh?" Tsunade glanced at the boy out of the corner of her eyes.

"His hand…I thought it moved."

"You saw it then."

"No."

"Hmm." She looked placidly at the Uchiha, who still had red marks on his face where he laid on his arm.

The exchange was so low Sakura couldn't catch all of it. She looked on confusedly and shuffled her feet awkwardly, feeling somewhat useless and out of place.

Then, Naruto groaned and moved under the sheets. Sakura rushed to the other side of the bed. "Naruto—!"

"Shhh…" Tsunade shushed, trying to disturb her patient as little as possible. Then turning back to Naruto, she breathed out very gently, "Hey."

"He stayed with me…all night." Naruto breathed out weakly, his eyes still closed.

Sasuke's cheeks grew warm and he continued to face the wall, hoping no one was looking his way.

"Who?" Tsunade coaxed, trying to bring Naruto to full consciousness.

"My dad…"

Sasuke relaxed. Tsunade tensed.

"In my dreams…I couldn't see his face, but he told me not to give up, because I'm not fighting alone anymore…"

Tsunade looked saddened, but mentally shook herself out of it and returned to doctor-mode. "Well, I need you to wake up now."

Two dull blue eyes slowly blinked open. Without knowing, everyone held their breath. "Do you know who I am?" Tsunade began her inspection.

"Granny…" His voice was weak.

"Good," Tsunade replied, glad that his perception of reality and recognition seemed to be intact. She'll let the nickname pass this time. "And do you know who you are?"

"Uzu…maki…" He felt drained and was only dimly aware of his surroundings. His eyes closed heavily and for a moment everyone thought he had fallen asleep again. Just as Tsunade resigned to try again later, Naruto spoke.

"I hated that name…" he breathed.

Tsunade's eyes glistened slightly.

"…To be named after the village that hates me…to be reminded that I don't belong to any family…"

Sakura tried to catch Sasuke's eyes, hoping to find some corroboration to her confusion. His eyes moved slightly in her direction.

"Naruto…" Tsunade began, not knowing how to continue.

"But I don't hate it anymore…" Naruto opened his eyes and said with a weak smile. "I have people I care about here and I'd do anything to protect them…I'd die protecting Konoha, yeah?"

Tsunade's warm hand held Naruto's smaller one in silence, her eyelids weighted down with sadness and regret. Naruto tried again.

"Did you hear me? I'd give my life to protect them." Naruto voice was more assertive and his eyes burned with conviction despite his weak state. Tsunade understood the subtext only too well.

She gave a barely perceptible nod and unstuck her tongue. "Yeah."

Seemingly placated, Naruto sunk back into the pillow and fell asleep.

-'-

The trio in the hospital room remained silent for a long while, watching the blond breathe. Finally, Sakura broke the silence.

"Excuse me…erm...what happened to Naruto, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade gathered her thoughts. "I don't know…not for certain. I need to investigate further." Sakura was taken aback that the legendary medic-nin was stumped. "It's complicated." Tsunade continued carefully, still watching the boy. "I think something triggered a reaction far beyond normal because of a…predisposition he had or has developed." A light turned on in her mind. "…or both…"

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura found that helpful in the least.

_She's avoiding something_, Sasuke thought.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura tried again, her honor-student mentality taking over, "I still don't understand."

Godaime smiled at her apprentice. "Don't worry, we'll make this a case study when you're ready for it, okay?"

"Alright," Sakura agreed, understanding that was the end of the matter.

_I wonder if she's trying to protect me…_ Sasuke thought. _Fuck, if you think it's me just say so!_

"Sasuke."

Had there been an Inner Sasuke, he would have leapt out of his body white as a ghost, desperately holding down his heart from beating out of his chest. On the outside, Sasuke calmly looked up at the Hokage, praying she couldn't hear the wild thumping.

"You were with him before he was brought to the hospital?"

He nodded.

"Then you won't mind if we discuss what you know later."

"Of course not," Sasuke replied.

She studied Sasuke's face and body language, trying to decipher his thoughts. Her eyes narrowed in mistrust and hoped it didn't come off that way. "Alright, expect to be summoned sometime soon."

She looked both of them in the eyes. "I'd appreciate it if you two don't mention Naruto's condition until we have more definitive answers. Now, go enjoy your day off."

Taking the hint, the genin bowed and left.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 12: **Inquisition**. Tsunade gets straight to the point.


	12. Inquisition

**-'-**

**Chapter 12 **

**Inquisition**

**-'-**

The soft morning light streamed into Hokage Tower, highlighting Tsunade's straw-blond tresses. She stirred slightly, her cheeks pressed against an old manuscript, and blinked. She sat up and wiped the drool from the side of her mouth and grimaced slightly at the small stain she left on the antiquated pages.

_Morning already? _Looking out the window, Tsunade shaded her squinting eyes and looked back at her desk, cluttered with scrolls and books from research.

_What if this isn't one problem, but two?_

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Kotetsu and Izumo stepped in.

"Do you have any orders today, Hokage-sama?" Kotetsu asked. They stood at ease, Izumo's eyes flicking quickly away from the ink mark on the Hokage's cheek.

"Good morning you two. Kotetsu, have these people report to my office." She handed him a list of names and times. "Izumo, gather the instructors."

"Right away, Hokage-sama." The chuunin took their leave.

Tsunade wiped at her cheek after the door closed and attempted to control her disheveled hair.

_Gah! So much to do. Grandpa, I certainly took on something troublesome…_

-'-

It was dark in Sasuke's apartment save the harsh slivers of light that broke through between the drawn blinds. It cut the boy apart in stark light and shadows as he stood splashing his face at the kitchen sink. He braced his arms against the side of the basin and kept his eyes shut for a long moment, feeling the water run off his nose and chin. Even without mirrors he knew it must have been dark under his eyes. They were so tired. He was so tired. He blinked out water and watched the tap stream idly before reaching to turn it off. He paused, put his hand down again and plunged his dark head under the cold.

"Now, Sasuke. Don't go drowning yourself now."

Sasuke slowly turned towards the voice and blinked at the light behind the silhouette perched on his windowsill. He turned off the tap and waited for Kakashi to continue.

The jounin stayed aloft, having never been invited in.

"Report to the Hokage's office at ten. Don't be late."

Sasuke 'hn'ed, noting the irony, and found himself in the dark again as the blinds swung back down in place at Kakashi's departure. He watched the water drip out of his hair and disappear down the metal drain.

-'-

Naruto sat on the hospital bed, happily double-fisting skewered dango.

"Mmmmhmhmmmph," Naruto swallowed with a gulp. "Hey, hey! Didya bring any more, Granny Tsunade?"

Tsunade chuckled at the blond, glad that he was somewhat back to normal. _He's stabilized after the resealing procedure. Kyuubi's chakra was suppressed enough to let more of the real Naruto show._

"No."

Tsunade watched Naruto's shoulders fall out of the corner of her eye and suppressed a smile.

"But I do have this chashiu bao…"

"Really?" Naruto's clasped his hands together and his blue eyes sparkled with hope and gratitude.

"Yeah."

She handed over a barbeque pork bun and allowed herself a moment to watch the young boy devour it happily before she got down to business.

"Naruto…"

"Mmmph?" he acknowledged with his mouth still full.

"Do you remember what you experienced during the genjutsu?"

Naruto stopped mid-chew, remembered to swallow, and gave a small smile. "Nah. I tried…but I think I'm kinda glad I don't."

"Nothing at all?"

Naruto looked at Tsunade, searching for the words. "Mmmm, well, it's kinda like waking up from a nightmare. Your heart is pounding and you're shaking and even though everything fades after you wake up, you still know it was the worst nightmare you've ever had. I don't know, I think there was a lot of red." Naruto stopped as if he realized he was starting to babble, or caught himself before he went somewhere he didn't want to go, Tsunade wasn't sure which. "Does that make sense?" he asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah," Tsunade smiled. "What about before? Do you remember what was going on just before?"

Naruto studied the half-eaten bun cradled in his hands. His smile wavered as he remembered the feel of the kunai in his shaking grip.

"Just a face full of angry Sasuke," Naruto joked, looking up with a wide grin. When Tsunade didn't respond, an image of Sasuke's livid face emerged from memory. "I hadn't seen eyes like that since I fought him three months ago." He said it quietly, and Tsunade had a feeling that he didn't realize he said it out loud.

"What do you mean?"

Naruto jerked out of his reverie. "Oh!" He rubbed the back of his head again. "It's nothing, it's just his eyes looked different from before. He probably evolved his Sharingan while we were fighting…Probably 'cause I was too powerful for him to fight without extra help!" Naruto jerked a thumb towards himself with a conceited smirk. Tsunade wasn't about to be side-tracked so easily.

"Oh? So did he fight with those eyes the whole time three months back?"

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes and then crossed his arms and squinted, trying to remember if he had seen it before the fight was over. He couldn't.

"Well…I didn't notice it until…right after I…well, it was right at the end when he gave in, when I finally woke him up."

They were silent for a beat, Tsunade hesitating before asking her next question.

"Naruto, do you think he meant to hurt you? Back then?"

"HEY!"

Tsunade nearly jumped. Naruto was suddenly on alert and pointed an accusing finger at the sannin. "You already passed judgment on Sasuke! You can't take it back!"

"Calm down, jeez." Tsunade rubbed her brow where it was starting to ache. "I'm not out to punish Sasuke."

"Well…good," Naruto returned lamely. "'Cause I know you don't like him." He threw her a suspicious glare.

"You haven't answered the question."

Resigned, Naruto sank back into the pillows.

"He was in a bad place when we fought. But yeah, I think he seriously wanted to kill me. If it wasn't for Kyuubi, I think I'd have..." He felt suddenly fatigued. "and still…sometimes it feels like I…you know…died or something…that day..." The silence that followed was uncomfortable.

"Ha! But that's a stupid isn't it? I'm right here." He thumped himself in the chest. Solid. "Gimme three days, Grans. I'll be right as rain and you'll be fighting to keep your job from me!"

"Idiot."

-'-

Tsunade was back at her desk later that morning, busying herself with paperwork waiting expectantly for visitors. She heard a smart rap at the door.

"Come in."

She heard the door open and felt Uchiha Sasuke stand before her desk.

"I'll be frank," she started without looking up and without preamble, carefully resting her brush on the ink pad. She laced her fingers together and made eye contact.

"Jiraiya saw you pin Naruto with the Mangekyou Sharingan activated."

She watched Sasuke's eyes widen just a little as an almost inaudible noise escaped from the back of his throat before the reaction melted back into a countenance of controlled indifference.

"What do you have to say to that?"

There was a pregnant silence and Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the Hokage as if she was the one being scrutinized.

"That it's impossible."

"And why is that?"

"Because I don't have the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Tsunade wondered briefly if the brat was trying her patience on purpose. "And on what basis can you contradict both Jiraiya and Kakashi?"

Something flickered briefly behind Sasuke's dark eyes at the mention of both his sensei. It was the only indication of a reaction.

"As I said. It's impossible."

"You'll need to elaborate if I'm to believe you."

"My word should be enough."

Tsunade's fuse was growing short. "Need I remind you that of the two of us, you're the one who abandoned Konoha," she said curtly. Sasuke didn't know that she had been running away prior to her instatement as Hokage, but she wasn't about to enlighten him. "So pardon me for not taking your word on faith."

Again, Sasuke stood silently glaring at the woman before him, grappling with himself. Finally, he spoke with carefully considered words: "Because…there is a requirement for the Mangekyou Sharingan…that I couldn't fulfill."

With an equally skilled poker face, Tsunade waited for him to continue. Wordlessly, they challenged one another to break the silence first. In the end, Sasuke knew he wouldn't leave until she had her answer.

"Your closest friend…you have to kill him. And Naruto, as you see, is not dead. Therefore, it's impossible for me to have the Mangekyou Sharingan."

It was Tsunade's turn to be shocked.

"Three months ago, at the border…was that your intent? To obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

"Intent is irrelevant; the fact is that I did not obtain it," Sasuke answered precisely and detachedly. "Will that be all, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade scrutinized the audacious brat before her. "That'll be all. You're dismissed for now."

With the slightest of bows, Sasuke turned and left.

-'-

The dull sound of connecting limbs and fluttering cloth could be heard from the Hyuuga courtyard.

"Alright, alright. Good."

Hyuuga Neji skidded to a halt, his arms outstretched. He faced his uncle, panting, his Byakugan activated.

_More. I must advance…until I can see it…_

Hiashi considered his nephew carefully. He had watched him wordlessly suffer through rehabilitation alone. Aside from cursorily acknowledging Neji's strong inheritance of the family bloodline, Hiashi had up until the chuunin exams taken little notice of or interest in his brother's child. It was not until the last few months that he noticed how Neji isolated himself from other Hyuuga. Surrounded by family, Neji seemed determined to remain an orphan. So Hiashi was rightly caught off-guard when his nephew requested that he oversee his training. For Neji to approach him despite their strained relationship, Hiashi understood that this was an important matter and he couldn't bring himself to refuse. It was unprecedented for the head of the clan to train a branch family member, but Neji didn't ask to learn any particular skill, so Hiashi deigned to make an exception for his own peace of mind. Perhaps it would relieve him of the debt he owed Neji for postponing the truth about his father for so long. Perhaps he could mend his broken family, even a little.

He watched the young prodigy catch his breath. _He moves with purpose._

Out of the corner of his perceptive pale eyes, he caught the sight of his eldest trip slightly as she hurried in with a tray of tea. He mentally sighed.

"Let's take a break, Neji."

They settled themselves on the elevated walkway of the compound as Hinata served the tea. Neji read the disappointment in his uncle's countenance and Hinata's awareness of it. He turned towards his cousin in an attempt to distract her.

"Hinata-sama."

She jerked her head to look at her older cousin, still wary from their encounter during the preliminaries. Neji, feeling a slight pang of guilt, turned his lips up to what he hoped was a non-threatening smile.

"I heard that Naruto is in the hospital. Shouldn't you go visit?"

Hiashi glanced over, slightly annoyed that his nephew, although inadvertent, spoke authoritatively towards his daughter. The children were oblivious.

Instead, Neji watched as Hinata cast her head and eyes downward and blushed slightly in silence. "It's…okay…," she replied softly.

"What, didn't you know?" a loud voice called from across the courtyard. "She already went to see him out of concern." Kiba and Shino approached the Hyuuga. "But when she saw him with an IV in his arm she nearly fainted. She was so embarrassed that she didn't dare show her face!"

"Ki…Kiba-kun!" Hinata feebly protested. She was drowned out by Kiba's howling laughter at Hinata's expense. Neji's lips involuntarily turned up further.

"Hiashi-sama, Neji-san," Shino politely addressed present company, ignoring his teammate, who was hugging his stomach laughing.

"Don't worry, Hinata-sama," Neji said. "Naruto-kun is directly under the Hokage's care, he—"

"The Hokage!" Hinata suddenly interrupted. "Father, I received a message that Hokage-sama wanted to see you. That's why I was late with tea."

Suppressing another sigh, Hiashi nodded and stood.

"Training is over for today."

**-'-**

* * *

Chapter 13: **Nominations**. Only the best will do.


	13. Nominations

-'-

**Chapter 13**

**Nominations**

-'-

Sasuke's apartment was flooded with daylight and abruptly dim again as its owner slammed the door behind him. A beat, a breath, and Sasuke strode to the kitchen, yanked a toaster violently off the wall and dropped himself down at the kitchen table.

Tilting the metal toaster, Sasuke watched his eyes turn red in the chrome surface, three tomoe in each. It was second nature to call on the Sharingan now, fully matured since Jiraiya nearly killed him during one of their sessions, but the boy frowned in disappointment.

_Maybe I need to be in a heightened emotional state_. He thought of Itachi snapping his wrist, tossing him aside. _'I have no interest in you now.'_ Anger at himself and shame welled in his chest, but his eyes remained unchanged.

Almost distracted by the memory, he called himself to focus and switched tactics. His mind recalled the event in question, his idiot teammate desperate, pointing the kunai at himself. A different type of anger flared, and indignation. Blue, fearful, pained, dilated eyes. Guilt. Distorted and ugly, his reflection leered and taunted him, but his eyes didn't change.

He clamped his lids down tight. _Think of mom and dad lying in a bloody puddle at his feet. 'Just to measure my capacity…' _Red, red, RED. Rage and anguish bubbled and popped. Hate and fear and resentment and helplessness and betrayal and _why?_ His brother's cold, cold face that looked so much like his own.

Sasuke's eyes burst open.

The tomoe were spinning wildly, but still they were the same eyes as before.

The toaster slammed against the table top and was shoved violently away. _Why the hell are they fucking with my head?_ Sasuke thought viciously about the sannin. At least Orochimaru seemed to have been forthcoming about his dealings with his underlings. He wondered bitterly whether it was a mistake not to have gone to Orochimaru. At the very least he would have been working with someone who wanted to train him, regardless of motivation. He probably would have been stronger by now and not having to deal with stupid, distracting things like wondering why Naruto was in the hospital. _I don't even want them anymore. Besides, there's just no way…_

But he gingerly picked up the toaster and tried again anyway.

-'-

Meanwhile, Hokage Tower shook at the sound of a fearsome voice.

"WHAAAAT!"

Shizune flinched in Hiashi's stead as he stood calmly before a very miffed Tsunade.

"Again, with all due respect Hokage-sama, I decline."

"Have another come then."

"Such skills discussed would only be passed to main house members and in Konoha's critical state, it would be a misallocation of resources."

"You mean you won't risk any clan members working with Naruto."

"With the Kyuubi vessel," Hiashi corrected her matter-of-factly.

"With _Naruto_!"

"The only reason you would require our assistance is if your suspicions prove true. We just discussed that, in that situation, the boy is less—"

"_You're twisting my words…" _ Tsunade seethed.

Hiashi didn't contradict her, satisfied that the Hokage realized she had backed herself into a corner. He deliberately lowered his crossed arms to his side to seem less hostile. With practiced effortlessness he made eye contact to communicate his serious resolve.

"You must understand, Hokage-sama, it is my duty as the clan leader to protect the family first and foremost. And though taboo, the lingering feelings towards the Kyuubi's attack are still felt. It would be unbecoming of the head to help the boy and inappropriate to order a main house member to do likewise. As the Hokage, you must understand the need to set an example."

"Yeah, I understand politics."

"Yes," Hiashi answered simply. "And even if I do agree to help I physically can not deliver. Hyuugan eyes deteriorate just like any others with age. Even recognized as the strongest of my clan, my eyes are no longer as supple. It is nigh impossible for me to modify my doujutsu to confirm your theory."

Tsunade closed her eyes and rubbed at the slight ache beginning to develop near her temple.

"So…what you're saying is…I need a non-main house Hyuuga who will work with Naruto willingly, who is talented enough to figure out an unprecedented doujutsu without explicit instruction to save main house face, but who is young enough such that his eyes are physically capable of mastering such a doujutsu?" The throbbing in her head was becoming much more pronounced. She opened her eyes tiredly to Hiashi's passive face.

"Tell me Hiashi, does such a person exist?"

-'-

Neji made a small noise in his throat, blinked hard, and wrinkled his nose. It was just enough of a distraction to let Lee land a kick to the chest. Neji flipped in the air and landed gracefully with a skid. A funny pressure built up again.

"Ah…_chii_!"

"Oh? Neji's got a cold?" Tenten teased with a twinkle in her eye.

Neji brushed his nose with his knuckles. "I don't get colds."

"Then someone must have been thinking of me just now!" Lee piped in. "I got a good solid strike on Neji-kun after all."

"That's not how it works, dummy!" Tenten retorted.

Lee just grinned and playfully dodged Tenten's half-hearted attempts to knock him upside the head and Neji called for them to focus.

Gai was standing by with an amused smile watching his adorable team banter when the cry from the messenger hawk caught his attention. He squinted into the sun.

_Is it that time already?_

-'-

Forty minutes later, Kakashi meandered into the meeting hall with his faced buried in his book.

"Oi, Kakashi." The silver-haired shinobi looked up to see a serious face on his bowl-cut, self-proclaimed rival. "It's unseemly to be late for the Hokage's meeting."

Some of the lower-ranked and younger shinobi in the room marveled at Gai. "He's quite something to be able to stand up to _the_ Copy-Nin Kakashi like that," they said quietly to one another.

Kakashi surveyed the room and nonchalantly slipped the little orange book in his equipment pouch. "The Hokage's not here herself. It seems like I'm actually early."

Kakashi suddenly found Gai bent over, his fists trembling, with a constipated look on his face. All too familiar with Gai's arsenal of poses, Kakashi didn't even bother rolling his eyes.

"That's it! Kakashi, your behavior is too Unsightly to merit your position as my Eternal Rival!" Gai declared loudly with his finger pointing at the unfazed Kakashi. "I declare my new Self Rule. I promise that I'll have you on time for the next ten…no! twenty jounin meetings. If I can't do it," —Kakashi could almost see the Burning Flames of Youth raging in the jounin's eyes— "I will wake up and crow at sunrise on top of Hokage Tower for a month!" Gai flashed a confident smile. "Punctuality is an important skill that needs to be trained too." His immaculate teeth _pinged_ and the shinobi who had admired him moments before sweat-dropped.

"Whatever, Gai."

Before Gai could over-dramatically comment on the Modernity of his rival's response, the door swung open. The Hokage swept through the room and leaned her weight on the front desk.

"You are called here today because I've received confirmation for the next chuunin exam." Slight mummers punctuated the otherwise silent room. "Due to recent political instability, the next biennial exam has been pushed back. As the last hosting village, we had eighty-seven representatives. As you all know, since the Oto-Suna invasion, our forces have diminished. We can not afford or risk having our genin forces and their accompanying jounin instructors participate on foreign soil.

Another wave of mummers.

"But Hokage-sama, haven't we all been working over-time to not appear weak?" Kurenai asked what was on everyone's mind. "You said yourself that in light of political instability, we must maintain our position of military dominance if we are to even hope for peace."

Asuma grunted in agreement.

"Aa, I've already thought of that." Tsunade pushed herself off the desk and stood. "Rather than strength in numbers we'll send no more than five teams of three. But they'll be our best. Preferably ones who have taken the exam before and understand the expectations and dangers. Depending on how many are nominated, we may conduct our own preliminary qualification test. Not just any newbie who is nominated will participate this time." Tsunade surveyed the instructors. Almost everyone's eyes were unfocused, mentally assessing their own students.

"Have nominations in by the end of next week," Tsunade said and brought back everyone's attention. "If there are more than fifteen nominated, expect preliminaries within two months. The Chuunin Exams will be held officially in three."

"Hokage-sama?" a jounin in the back spoke up. "Where will the exam be held?"

After a beat, Tsunade answered: "Iwagakure no Sato."

The room buzzed at the news. Kakashi leaned his back against the wall and pulled his hands deep into his pockets.

_The Village Hidden in the Stone…is it?_

Concealed by his familiar guise of apathy, Kakashi's hands shook.

-'-

The crickets sang their evening song and the silhouette of a man could be seen outside the paper doors of the Hyuuga compound. Inside, Hiashi faced an old scroll mounted on the wall of his den, his natural frown more pronounced than usual. _Duty. Honor. Order_. Adages and words of wisdom painted on the canvas as whispers from a noble time forgotten. The brushstrokes danced, but Hiashi wasn't watching.

He heard a rap on the wooden panel and the scraping of the door sliding open and he knew without turning that Neji was waiting to be acknowledged. Hiashi decidedly refused to face his visitor.

"You will meet with the Hokage tomorrow, eleven sharp," Hiashi said soberly, his back facing his nephew. The edges of Neji's lips tugged downward and he furrowed his eyebrows slightly at the discourteous gesture, but waited silently for his uncle to continue.

"Hokage-sama will inform you of the details of her request. You are free to accept or decline as you see fit." Neji tilted his head quizzically ever so slightly.

"Dismissed."

-'-

* * *

Chapter 14: **A Matter of Trust.** Both Naruto and Sasuke have trust issues.


	14. A Matter of Trust

-'-

**Chapter 14**

**A Matter of Trust**

-'-

Sasuke and Sakura were early.

They met on the bridge, nearly bumping into each other before either noticed the other's presence. Caught off-guard, they blinked stupidly at each other before acknowledging the other awkwardly.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Mornin'."

They retreated to their usual place, took their usual positions: both leaned against the railings, Sakura looking out into the water, Sasuke facing the other way avoiding it.

With their delinquent sensei, _on time_ means early—or ridiculously early, depending on Kakashi's mood—so no one ever arrived earlier than on time. Today though, both sought solitude in the clean morning air to mull over their incapacitated teammate. All things considered, Team Seven's teamwork had grown surprisingly strong since "the incident." But it had also grown oddly...professional. Or rather, for each their own reasons, no one wanted to get personal; one treads carefully among sleeping demons and fractured glass. So Sasuke and Sakura abruptly derailed their thoughts, hoping the other didn't catch on.

Sasuke frowned, slightly annoyed at the intrusion and fell to visualizing taijutsu sequences. Sakura felt a strong urge to fall into habit to escape the awkward silence, but somehow fawning over Sasuke seemed disrespectful today, even in Naruto's absence. She resorted to mentally reciting tenketsu names instead.

"Oh man! Did you guys see that last move? Hana won't know what hit her when we whoop her and the triplets, right Akamaru?"

Sakura turned to see Team Eight approach, Kiba enthusiastically addressing the others as Hinata smiled warmly and Shino listened attentively. Circling playfully around the group, Akamaru barked in agreement. Sakura's melancholy eyes were green for a moment, but she banished the feeling and straightened up to greet them.

"Good morning, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Hinata-chan. What are you guys doing so early?"

Kiba whirled around and blinked as if he just noticed the kunoichi. "Early?" Kiba looked at her a little puzzled. "It's nearly eleven."

"Well, I guess it's early for us," qualified Sakura, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"How…how's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, cheeks lightly flushed.

"Ohhh? Naruto's not out yet?" Kiba interjected before Sakura could answer. The boy grinned mischievously. "Then he probably hasn't heard the news. I bet he'd flip that he's the last to know."

"News?"

-'-

Sandaled feet tapped along the wood-paneled floor of Hokage Tower. Imperceptibly, pale eyes glanced at the clock on the wall.

10:52.

Not annoyingly punctual. Not too early, but early enough to let him travel at a comfortable pace and gather his bearings. Hyuuga Neji hated being unprepared.

Resisting the urge to shove his hands in his pockets, Neji continued to walk purposefully down the hall past the chuunin runners as he reflected on the meeting the night before. _Hiashi-sama speaks of something the Hyuuga does not endorse. What could this be?_ He stopped in front of the mahogany double doors and moved to knock. He hesitated, then rapped smartly on the door.

"Come in."

He entered to a shout of a familiar voice: "EEEEHHHHH?"

Neji winced.

Naruto stood by the Hokage's desk pointing dramatically at Neji, his eyes wide as he addressed the woman behind the desk. "What's HE doing here, Granny?"

"Hokage-sama," Neji greeted. "Naruto-kun."

Tsunade was too distracted by the noisy blond to acknowledge the Hyuuga. "He's here to—"

"Uh uh, no WAY!" Naruto interrupted. He crossed his arms in an 'X' shape and shook his head emphatically. "You didn't tell me it was going to be Neji!" Naruto was pointing at Neji again. "I am NOT working with this guy!"

Neji concentrated on the fingernails digging into his palms as Naruto continued to protest.

"NARUTO!" The Hokage slammed her hand down and her desk shook precariously under her palm. Naruto jumped. "You don't even know the situation. At least understand what's going on before you object!" Tsunade's breathing punctuated the heavy silence that followed. Naruto's torso slumped and he jammed his hands into his pockets. "What else do I need to know?" His bottom lip stuck out in a pout. "He's going to use that crazy eye thing on me." Naruto briefly made eye contact with Neji before lowering his gaze to his twiddling toes. "Ask someone else or forget it."

"This is not your decision, brat."

"Hokage-sama." Both Tsunade and Naruto turned to Neji, as if truly acknowledging his presence for the first time since he'd entered. "I am here to accept the task you have for me. However, I can understand Naruto-kun's reluctance to work with me. At your word, I can ask Hiashi-sama to send for someone in my stead."

It was quiet for a beat. Naruto was visibly taken aback.

Resting her chin on interlaced fingers, Tsunade watched Naruto, his eyes glistening with something akin to…fear? _Neji…that's right, he was recruited on the retrieval mission. Did something happen between these two? _ She let out a silent sigh. _This situation is a very personal matter. Perhaps I should have considered his feelings a little more, but how was I to know Hiashi would send someone the brat knew? _

Eyes back on Neji, Tsunade quickly went to business before the blond could object again. "Have you been briefed on the situation?"

"I was told I would be briefed here, Hokage-sama."

"I see." _That man is protecting himself well. _"In that case, Hyuuga Neji, I can still give you a choice on whether or not you accept my proposal. However, for security I must have your decision before you know the full details of the situation." Tsunade rose from her chair. "Here's what I can tell you:"

"We need information in which your unique abilities are most apt to obtain. For this assignment, you will be privy to highly sensitive information classified by decree of the Third. Should you accept, you will be integral in developing long term security measures for the village. The immediate situation directly affects the well-being of a Konoha nin. Should you accept this task, you are not to divulge any part of it to anyone, be they family or peers. _Especially family and peers_." Tsunade paused to let the information sink in.

"Time commitment is indeterminate at this point. In addition to this task, you are expected to continue in your normal day-to-day, though I reserve the right to excuse you from normal mission assignments. This itself is off the books, so you are not required to participate. However, you were chosen as the best candidate for the job and should you accept I expect full commitment. Please, take some time to consider the conditions and let me know your decision by the end of the day. Details will be given upon your acceptance of these terms." Tsunade paused again. "Do you have any questions?" She waited as the question hung in the air.

"No."

"Then you're dismissed."

Tsunade waited for the door to click shut behind the Hyuuga. Then, she pounced.

"Naruto, I don't care what's between you two, but if you want to get better, you really can't afford Neji to say no."

"Nothing's wrong with me!" Naruto threw back hotly on instinct even though he knew it was a lie.

They challenged each other with their eyes, but the ensuing silence gave Naruto time to let his defenses drop a little. Defeated, he stuffed his hands in his pockets again and addressed the floor.

"I'd just really rather he not know...about me," Naruto mumbled.

The sannin expression softened slightly. Flopping back into her chair, she transformed from Hokage to older sister. "Regardless, your behavior in front of Neji-kun was highly inappropriate. Show some restraint and we could have discussed it afterwards." She looked at Naruto squarely in the eyes. "Surely you understand what it's like to feel unwelcomed."

Naruto was slightly aghast. "What? I didn't mean…I wasn't…" he sputtered. Tsunade's eyes seemed to bore into him. Mentally reprimanding himself, Naruto ran out the door without saying goodbye.

-'-

Sasuke leaned idly against the bridge railing off to the side, half-listening to the conversation when he felt the presence of a small creature. He looked down to find Kiba's dog (Akamaru, or something like that) sniffing at his feet. The pup then started to growl, and gave a short yip.

Gods, Sasuke hated yippy dogs. _Hostile_, yippy dogs. He felt an overwhelming urge to kick it.

"Hey!" Sasuke jerked his head up and was greeted with an irate Inuzuka. "Don't touch Akamaru!"

"Ki-Kiba-kun!" Hinata pulled pleadingly at her teammate's sleeve.

"You got a problem with me?" Sasuke returned, almost welcoming a confrontation.

"Yeah, I do."

"Kiba-kun, please!"

Kiba growled in frustration and jerked his arm away from Hinata, but he didn't move to attack. "Just…just stay the hell away from my dog."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously at Kiba but didn't goad the volatile Inuzuka on. Shoving his fists into his pockets, Sasuke turned his back to the group and walked off.

"Hhm," Kiba snorted. "Let's get going guys." Hinata hung back briefly as her team left.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry about Kiba…"

"No, it's okay. I understand."

Sakura stole a look at the retreating Sasuke and hoped that he didn't hear the exchange.

He did, and the weight on his chest grew.

-'-

Neji was out of the building and halfway through the courtyard before he felt Naruto chasing after him. The Hyuuga stopped, but didn't turn around. At that, Naruto stopped too, but didn't call out. They stood in silence for a while, the genius in anticipation while the drop-out gathered his bearings. Then, pulling a wry smile out of nowhere, Naruto broke the awkward silence:

"_I can ask someone else to take my place,_" Naruto sang mockingly, misquoting the Hyuuga, "What's the hell was that? What are you afraid of Neji? Huh?"

Neji turned to face Naruto, analyzing the forced-confrontational tone.

"Whatever this task is, it has to do with you personally." Fact. Naruto felt his ruse falling apart as Neji refused to rise to the bait.

Neji stood, reflecting: Naruto's ire after he arrogantly pummeled his cousin at the preliminaries. The blond's indignation as Neji mocked him during the third chuunin exam. His own spectacular let-down after being torn apart by Kidomaru in the forest...

"I've never given you reason to trust me, let alone give you reason to think of me as a friend. It's fine if you don't want me working with you."

Naruto blinked at Neji. And then he grinned to keep from laughing. "It's the opposite, you idiot! It's because I do…and I didn't want…and they call you a genius of insight? You must be losing your touch Neji." Neji stitched his eyebrows together and frowned slightly.

"Look," Naruto started again when he recognized the communication failure, "even though you were a total prick when we first met, you're all right." Naruto smiled genuinely as he delivered the compliment. A vein in Neji's forehead itched. "So how about you take the job and _prove_ that you're trustworthy?"

Naruto grew a little nervous as Neji's eerie pale eyes regarded him silently. "And…and _if _you succeed, you'll be acknowledged as a true genius! Whaddaya say?"

Neji was about to respond, but thought better of it and decided on: "The Hokage's conditions were clear that no one is to know."

"Well, _I'll_ know," Naruto huffed. "That should be enough."

"Not really."

"Hey!" It was Naruto's turn to be indignant. "Are you going to accept or not?"

Neji smirked.

"I accept."

-'-

* * *

Chapter 15 **Mission Assignment. **Finally, a theory and a mission. Only Neji can't seem to stay focused.


	15. Mission Assignment

-'-

**Chapter 15**

**Mission**** Assignment**

-'-

Neji wasn't aware that he was digging his fingers into his thighs. He was too busy trying to swallow the fact that Naruto had a beast inside him. The Kyuubi no Youko. The stuff of legends and nightmares.

He swallowed. Hard.

His tongue felt thick and heavy as he unstuck it from the roof of his mouth. "Okay."

"Okay then." Godaime Hokage smiled a little in empathy. "I'm sorry to put the burden of this knowledge on you, but it is imperative to your mission. Now…" She needed to get to the point quickly before the young Hyuuga changed his mind. She didn't know much about the boy, but if he was a Hyuuga, he'd know his family history. The clan took heavy losses being on the front lines during the Kyuubi's attack and Hiashi made the family's residual bitterness clear. Not knowing how Neji would react, Tsunade purposely briefed Naruto separately at Naruto's request. So far so good…

"Then, I take it that the Kyuubi is a threat to the village..." Neji spoke distractedly. The silence after lingered and Tsunade held her breath. Eyes slightly glazed, Neji's attention was on the dull ache of his still-healing wounds, his thoughts back to the rescue mission. "I'm honored and prepared to do my duty to protect a Leaf comrade and the village. But I'd like to understand why I was chosen." Humility never sat well with the Hyuuga prodigy, but the past year has taught him otherwise. And this was the Kyuubi after all... "There are those more qualified to handle a situation of this magnitude," he admitted.

Tsunade gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, but her jaw was firm. "I won't deny that the Kyuubi is a threat, but the threat exists due to what I believe is a side-effect to something else entirely. We need to understand the root of the problem before we are able to act. This is where your assistance is pivotal."

Neji's brow gathered slightly in confusion and anticipation. Tsunade exhaled slowly.

"Neji-kun..."

_The battle, extended recovery, regressed chakra control. Atypical behavior, moods, lapses. What happened on the mission, training field...in the emergency room...  
_

_Every symptom._

_Everything._

"I believe...Naruto's lost part of his soul."

-'-

"_—Chii!_" Naruto sneezed hard and banged his head against the wall on the up-swing. "Ow! Dammit!" He sat in the empty hallway just outside the Hokage's door, not bothering to rub his skull, letting the pain throb with his pulse. Too much energy. Not worth it when alone.

"Damn it," he repeated in a frustrated whisper.

_This really. Royally. Sucks_.

A muffled shout came from beyond the door.

He wondered vaguely if he'd just lost an ally as his fingers unconsciously traced circles over his abdomen.

-'-

Neji nearly choked. "What?"

"I believe that Naruto died and—"

"Wha—!"

"Neji, let me finish," Tsunade said firmly. Neji gritted his teeth trying to recover from his rare lapse in composure as all the Hokage's mad ideas and all its implications swam in his head.

"Listen. I believe Naruto died and his soul was leaving his body when the Kyuubi's self-preserving powers kicked in and saved Naruto from death. But I suspect something altered his soul – that the bond is weakened, or not all there, or...something. This is where you come in."

Tsunade looked at the boy in front of her. For all his reputation as a genius, he was only fourteen.

"With a weakened soul, and by association, a weakened chakra, Naruto's defenses against the Kyuubi are unstable. Kyuubi seems to be taking advantage of moments of physical, mental, emotional weakness to manifest itself, and I don't have to tell you how dangerous this is for everyone. My sources also implicate that Kyuubi is bleeding into Naruto's psyche at times, though we have no measure as to what extent." Tsunade stopped short, contemplating whether or not to continue. She leaned forward, her tone softening.

"Naruto is suffering, Neji-kun. I want to do whatever we can to help him."

Finding herself unable to read the Hyuuga and feeling a slight heat in her cheeks, she hid a pout and switched back to her professional voice. "Your mission, Hyuuga Neji, is to confirm or refute my theory and if confirmed, to find a way to manage Naruto's symptoms and any complications. Find a way, Neji, ASAP."

For a long moment the boy looked lost in thought and Tsunade wondered if he had even heard her theory and his mission. "You boys faced very strong opponents," she preempted the unasked _when_ and _who_. Finally, Neji made eye contact. Turning her voice deadly serious, Tsunade repeated: "ASAP, Neji-kun."

With newfound resolve in his eyes, Hyuuga Neji rose from his seat.

"Understood."

-'-

Tsunade watched the young genin shut the door behind him, her expression grim.

"You guys got that?"

"Mm."

Jiraiya grunted from his position just outside the window.

"Yeah."

Kakashi answered, now perched on the window sill.

Without turning around, Tsunade called out once more. "Tenzou, keep an eye on them."

An ANBU on the overhang disappeared with a flash.

-'-

Across the village, Sakura shuffled her feet impatiently in growing annoyance of her tardy sensei. _He's probably just reading his pervy book. Sensei has no sense of responsibility!_ Inner Sakura ranted. Any other day Sakura would have welcomed her time alone with Sasuke, who once again leaned aloofly on the bridge, his arms draped over the railings. But having been met with short answers in her feeble attempt at conversation after their encounter with Team Eight, she'd give anything for a distraction. They waited in uncomfortable silence.

"Yo."

"You're late!" Sakura returned hotly without looking up at Kakashi, whom she knew was perched on the overhang of the bridge. Kakashi dropped to the ground and straighted up, one hand scratching his neck, his visible eye smiling jovially.

"Well now...I was on my way when I fell into an alternate reality and met—"

"Lies!"

"—a demon tamer."

Kakashi felt the cooler-than-usual chill of his miffed students' glares and shrugged.

"Kakashi, what's this news we've been hearing about?"

Sakura was surprised to hear Sasuke speak up first, especially in reference to Kiba.

"News?" Kakashi drawled more slowly than usual. "Care to elaborate?"

"The dog-boy," Sasuke answered curtly.

"Ahehhehheh." Sakura forced a nervous laugh. "He means Inuzuka Kiba-kun."

Kakshi cocked his head to the sky, as if searching his thoughts above his head. "News…eh…?" Kakashi's eye rolled mischievously to look at his students. "Oh! You must mean about the chuunin exams!"

"Eeeeh?" Sakura returned with wide eyes. Kakashi noted that Sasuke tensed at the news as well.

"Wh—?" Sakura cut off as her sensei pulled two scrolls out of nowhere and stuck it in her face.

"Here."

Sakura staggered backwards so she could look at the scrolls without crossing her eyes. "What is it?"

Kakashi dropped one into her hands and tossed the other to Sasuke. "Your next mission."

Kakashi bent down to the genins' height with his hands about his hips. His eye was positively grinning. "You'll need more field experience if you even want me to _nominate_ you for the exams this time, right?" he sing-songed.

-'-

* * *

Chapter 16: **Learning to See. **Naruto found himself dodging the Juken. Over and over and over.


	16. Learning to See

-'-

**Chapter 16 **

**Learning to See**

-'-

"…_How much do you know about the soul?"_

_One of Neji's fingers twitched involuntarily, but he was otherwise silent. Tsunade took the silence as her cue to continue. _

"_We know a lot about chakra because we can feel and manipulate it. The Hyuuga even have the ability to see chakra energy flow. In contrast, we know very little about the soul, only that once the soul leaves the body, the person ceases to live. Think of chakra as potential energy: it can become physical energy and be converted to manifest the elements. The soul is more like spiritual energy: it houses our spirit, our life, that spark that makes us alive. For those whose soul becomes weak, they become a shell of their former self. Do you understand so far?" _

"_Yes."_

"_Good." Tsunade looked relieved as if she had had to deal with another who hadn't. "Little is known about the nature of the soul because we can not feel and identify it like chakra. However..." The transition hung in seriousness. "There is a theory that the soul is inextricably linked to our chakra system, that it flows and circulates in much the same manner, and that it may even intersect at certain points. The fact that there are forbidden chakra-based jutsu affecting the soul corroborate this theory." Tsunade's eyes moved to the left and turned dark briefly leaving Neji to conjecture that she was revisiting a bitter memory. "By extension," she continued, "we theorize that the soul pathways also have gates and tenketsu equivalents." She paused. "Do you see where I'm going with this, Neji-kun?"_

_Neji spoke carefully. "You think it's possible that the Hyuuga, who are capable of seeing and manipulating chakra within a person, might also find a way to manipulate another person's soul."_

_Tsunade smirked. "You got it. In fact, there has already been research done by your clan in the past, research with promising results…"_

"—Maaaan!" Neji's thoughts were interrupted by Naruto's whining. "They freakin' went on a mission without me! Can you believe it?"

"Hm."

"And they wouldn't have even _told_ me if I didn't run into Sakura-chan," he complained loudly about his negligent teammates.

Naruto was currently sitting on top of a training post, pelting a tree trunk with pebbles as Neji sat below on a picnic table, scrolls and parchments spread out before him. He was sketching on rice-paper super-imposed on a model of the chakra circulatory system.

"And you know what she said? She said that Kakashi-sensei said that I wasn't recovered and under the old hag's orders to not to go on missions. I mean, he made me out as totally _weak."_

"Mmhm."

"Oi!" Naruto leapt off the post. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Mmhm."

"Neji!"

Neji put down his pen and looked impassively at the red-faced blond. "And what part of that statement is untrue?"

"That's not the point! They could have at least _asked _me to go!"

"You'd have probably said yes."

"Gah!" Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed at his hair vigorously in exasperation. "Forget it. Let's just get this going."

Naruto opened his blue eyes to see Neji's piercing gray ones boring through him. A web of ugly veins lined his face.

"Ack!"

-'-

Day two and Neji had Naruto dancing around the green awkwardly like a broken marionette. His arms flapped wildly and his legs jerked up and down.

"Are you sure this is necessary?"

"Yes."

Chakra flowed more quickly while the body was in motion, and thus more visible. And, theoretically, the pathways that contain the soul would be more detectable while the body was in motion.

Neji made another mark on his diagram and smirked. Maybe he'd have Naruto do jumping jacks tomorrow.

-'-

Days later, Naruto found himself dodging the Juken.

Over, and over, and over.

_Doosh_. Bruise on the forearm. _Doosh_. Bruise below the clavicle.

_Doosh. Doosh. Doosh—_

"Enough already!" Naruto tried to land a kick on Neji's mid-section.

Neji dodged the blow and released the Byakugan, bracing himself for the slight vertigo that came with switching between sight. It had been more noticeable as of late.

"You know I need to be trying different combinations of hand signs and pressure points. It's unavoidable. You fighting it is slowing down the process." Neji's controlled tone was strained from fatigue and irritability.

"Yeah, well, I'm tired of being your testing hamster or whatever. You're the genius, figure it out already!"

A nerve twanged and Neji scowled.

"Don't think that the likes of you and Lee are the only one's who's got it tough! Do you have any idea how _fucking hard_ this is?"

Naruto blinked and a pressure caught in his chest from hearing Neji's angry outburst. He guiltily turned his eyes to a patch of grass and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, maybe you could be a little gentler then?"

There was a pause.

Finally, when Naruto dared to glance up he thought Neji looked a little guilt-ridden himself.

"Yeah, sure," his senpai answered.

Naruto smiled a little. Neji smiled wryly back.

"And it's _guinea pig_, loser."

-'-

Neji put down the pen again to press his fingers on his eyelids, squeezing the bridge of his nose slightly. He called himself to concentrate on the systems in his mind's eye rather than the ache, trying to pull together everything he knew.

Normal chakra, to his Byakugan, was a running stream of electric white-blue. But Kyuubi's (now he knew what he saw at the chuunin exams) licked fiery red-orange. Naruto's was both and neither at the same time.

Naruto's chakra dominated, the fire peeking above the surface from time to time before sinking from view again and creeping almost imperceptibly along the edges. On occasion the two streams ran parallel. Red-grey-brown. Milk-blue-orange. All dirty. Kyuubi's chakra concentrated in the abdominal area, appearing along the edges of the central coil like the fiery ring of an eclipse. Hidden by the seal, Neji suspected that Kyuubi's chakra was only visible there when Naruto purposely called on it.

At least the two chakra seemed somewhat incompatible: not exactly oil and water, but enough. Naruto said he could only tap into Kyuubi's chakra after he'd exhausted his own. A natural barrier. Neji was secretly relieved, and more than a little impressed that Naruto's natural strength could contain the Kyuubi for so long... But he found Naruto's chakra thin and stretched, diluted.

Slowly, Neji opened his eyes to study the diagram under his arm. Naruto's soul pathway was infinitely fainter. Ghost-like, it pulsed in and out of sight. But it did map closely with the chakra system as Tsunade had suggested, feeding into the chakra pathway at several key points, most noticeably at the gates. It seemed as if the soul kept the health of tenketsu points and chakra system: like a stream of water in a hose, it keeps the tenketsu from collapsing in on itself from the surrounding pressure, giving substance to the chakra, and strengthening its flow. There was vexingly little movement in Naruto's system though; the soul-stream was barely trickling into the hungry chakra. Neji wished he could attribute its faintness to untrained eyes, but he knew better. He mentally shook his head. Regardless, the best defense was to keep the points clear, both in the chakra and soul systems, and to keep the flow as strong as possible. And, theoretically, Kyuubi's chakra can be contained and redirected by strategically opening and closing points as well. Like acupuncture.

_Limit gate, points ten, twelve, fifteen, three, _he recited._ Life gate, points four, thirteen, twenty-two, seven..._

Neji's thoughts drifted. _Containing Kyuubi..._His lips pulled back against his teeth as he grimaced and gripped the fabric of his pants. _God damn it, this is all theory. _The heel of his hands pressed against his eyelids until he saw sparks. Memory rested on the third chuunin exam and Neji could feel his breath catch in his chest as if he was there again. The chakra was oppressive, suffocating, _hot_; it gripped and shook the core of his being. But he had moved forward regardless, spurred on by his indignation and frustration at the boy who defied conviction and logic. Could he have faced it that time if he had known? Could he face it now? How many parts monster, how many parts human?

Suddenly the unidentifiable pressure digging at his brain and squeezing at his chest since Tsunade had briefed him flared up unmistakably as guilt. Something not quite a laugh escaped. Neji knew something about anger: he had directed it at fate, at family, at stupid ignorant adults, and stupid ignorant kids… But this feeling was different, being angry at _himself_.

_'You could never understand what it's like to be burdened with a seal you can never be rid of!'_

_'Yeah, I can.'_

He had been indignant that that talentless brat could brush aside his personal demons so lightly. He had been incensed that this stranger dare call out his own suffering and sin and lay it out so plainly. _I was such a fool. How can I—_

Something cold and wet tapped against his arm. Neji adjusted to the light to see Naruto holding out a glass of ice water.

"They were out of juice," he offered as an explanation. His eyes weren't really focused on Neji.

Neji accepted the cool glass, resting it against his forehead and eyes. "I prefer tea anyway."

The blond dropped himself down backwards on the bench, his arm draped on the tabletop behind him. He looked on with a bit of concern lined on his brow.

"I can't believe you're trying to study this from scratch."

No response.

"Hey! Didn't Granny say that the Hyuuga already did some research? Why don't you look into that to help you out?"

"Branch members are restricted."

"Mmmmm." Naruto squinted, wracking his brain. Then he slammed a fist into an open palm in an epiphany.

"I know! Why don't you ask Hinata? I bet she could find something and let us know. She's the type to do something like that." Naruto smiled, amused, as if referencing an inside joke.

"I can't."

Deflated, Naruto countered impatiently. "Why the hell not? You two still not on speaking terms?"

_Clink_.

The ice in Neji's glass settled.

The question was innocent enough, though Neji could detect the slightest trace of bitterness. He deserved it, he knew, but it irked him all the same. As if he'd let family politics keep him from completing the mission. As if he'd let his pride be a stumbling block. Neji's countenance was a controlled calm even as a niggling voice inside told him that it was true. Another voice objected. He had been trying to see beyond his gray-tinted lenses and amend things in his own way. _Really, I have. _But since he was too fatigued to bother calling it out and defending himself, Neji turned to the blond and settled on the simple truth.

"No...It's because if I ask, she will not say no."

There was no further explanation. Naruto looked somewhat confused and, when he didn't seem to reach any conclusion, let it drop. Neji resumed resting the glass on his forehead and turned his attention back to the diagrams, leaving the blond thoughtful and silent.

"Are you all right with this?" Naruto broke the silence abruptly.

"It'll go away."

"No, are you all right with _this_." He gestured vaguely to himself.

Neji looked at Naruto, and then the glass in his hands thoughtfully. "It's just a mission assignment."

Naruto's expression hardened. "I'm serious." Curiously, the blond seem to teeter on the edge of anger and the cusp of fear.

"It's fine."

"Look, if you don't want—If...this—"

The glass banged louder than necessary on the wood. "It's fine." Neji repeated with as much conviction directed to himself as to Naruto. "We're two shinobi on an assignment. And we're going to see it through."

Blue eyes glimmered in something like shock, and then something like gratitude, and Naruto complimented them with a lopsided smile.

-'-

A country away, a missionary nin lay in a shivering heap, whimpering pathetically. His eyes were wide and unfocused, the whites around his dilated pupils blood-shot. In front of him, Uchiha Sasuke fell to his knees.

He braced himself with one hand in the dirt, the other clutching at his stinging eyes. His body quivered too, for a completely different reason. The seal on his shoulder tingled.

He heard footsteps approaching—lazy, but cautious—and felt them stop next to him. Sasuke released his hand from his eyes to confirm his sensei's dirty sandals, too exhausted to sense and identify Kakashi by his chakra signature. He half expected to see blood on his hand.

"You okay?"

"Kakashi…"

Sasuke's matted bangs hid the lost look in his dark eyes.

"…tell me about my Mangekyou."

-'-

* * *

Chapter 17: **All Mixed Up.** Sakura was, thankfully, unconscious.


	17. All Mixed Up

-'-**  
**

**Chapter 17**

**All Mixed Up**

-'-

Sakura was, thankfully, unconscious.

Kakashi felt a little guilty in his relief, but nonetheless thankful he could speak openly with Sasuke in this situation. He adjusted Sakura's weight on his back, careful not to irritate the angry welt on her forehead as he carried her piggy-back style home to Konoha.

"Sooo…" he drawled, wondering how to address the boy walking next to him, "you know about your Mangekyou Sharingan?"

"Apparently, so do you," Sasuke returned without restraining the accusation in his voice. He pulled restlessly at the straps of his supply pack.

"Well…" Kakashi continued to fish for words, "I—"

"It's impossible!" Sasuke interrupted. "I can't—I didn't do it. I didn't—it shouldn't be possible!"

Kakashi turned to his student. "What didn't you do?" Kakashi asked measuredly, genuinely curious. The subtlety was lost on Sasuke. He stopped and locked his eyes on the jounin's.

"Don't you know, Sharingan Master?" he spat. "Don't you know everything?" His charcoal eyes blazed.

Kakashi blinked in surprise, and a flash of—was it hurt?—glinted in the eye that was his. Then, it squinted into a smile. "You think too highly of me, Sasuke. I didn't know of the Mangekyou Sharingan until I confronted your brother. But I got to know it pretty intimately then."

Sasuke was thrown by the sudden pang of guilt. _That's right, Kakashi was a victim too that time…_Too proud to apologize outright, Sasuke settled by staying silent and starting forward.

Kakashi continued carefully. "I've been trying to develop my own since though, with some progress…"

Sasuke nearly gave himself whiplash. "What?"

"…But I haven't been able to replicate your brother's." Kakashi paused and cast a sideways glance at his incredulous student. "Maybe it's something I haven't done?"

Sasuke fell silent again, pressing his lips into thin line. The jounin waited as his student struggled between keeping a clan secret and trusting his sensei.

"You have to kill your closest friend," Sasuke finally said, somewhat strained. "There's no other way to evolve the Sharingan past three tomoe otherwise."

"Oh?" Kakashi said lamely, lost for words. They continued traveling in thick silence.

Then Kakashi stopped. His whole body seems to sag with a weight completely unrelated to the konoichi on his back. His haunted eye sparkled under heavy lids. "Oh," he said much more gently, as if he suddenly understood something. Sasuke didn't look at his sensei; his cheeks burned.

They moved on as the sun drifted along the sky.

"Hey, Kakashi?"

Kakashi tucked his thoughts away and turned to his student.

"Does your Sharingan ever…water?

The jounin turned his gaze down to the dirt road and smiled, slightly bittersweet. "Yeah. Sometimes it stings like hell."

"Hn." Sasuke felt a little better. But not really.

"It takes a lot out of a person to use the Mangekyou," Kakashi clarified. "It is for me, and it was true for your brother too." He watched Sasuke carefully as he brought up Itachi. "But as for how you and I obtained it, I think, that the requirement to develop the Mangekyou Sharingan is not absolute—for a true Mangekyou certainly, but not its variants," Kakashi added quickly, before Sasuke could protest. "But just judging from you and me, there seems to be some psychological element to developing the Mangekyou. Like the belief that you've killed a friend. Or guilt. Or intent." Sasuke let the words sink in and eat at his mind. It would be much later when Sasuke would reflect and realize how much Kakashi had offered of his own past in that moment.

"And it seems," Kakashi continued, "that the powers of each variant are unique to the circumstance in which they are triggered, if the absolute requirement is not met to evolve the Sharingan into the true Mangekyou form. I wouldn't go so far as to say that yours and mine are malfunctioning, just that the evolution was incomplete because the requirements weren't literally met so it'll take more work to get it a hold of it. We'll work on understanding and controlling yours, not to worry."

Sasuke clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt.

Kakashi turned his eye away from his student to the blue, blue sky. He inwardly sighed.

"It seems that you and I have a ways to go."

-'-

_So it was me._ Sasuke had thought as much, but having it confirmed pulled the unsettling ether into something rock solid that caught in his throat and settled painfully in his chest. He had unconsciously attacked Naruto with the Mangekyou Sharingan. And he didn't even know what he'd put his teammate through. Images? Memories? Sensations?_ 'Whatever technique Naruto is under…the pain is real' _the Hokage had said.

Sasuke shook his head to derail his train of thought_. Concentrate on the mission report. _He was heading to the Hokage's office now, in charge of delivering the mission report while Kakashi took Sakura to the hospital. He reached the double doors, and finding it slightly ajar, knocked to announce his presence and let himself in.

The Hokage seemed to be just settling in behind her desk. They made eye-contact and she wrinkled her nose slightly in disapproval of the boy's lack of propriety, but nodded in acknowledgment. "Sasuke-kun."

"Hokage-sama," he returned. "Reporting for Team Seven."

Tsunade was attending to her papers. "I'll be with you in a moment."

Sasuke stood in silence for a beat before he registered a light panting behind him. Curious, he turned and was surprised to see Hyuuga Neji sitting with his back propped against the wall, his head tilted up with his forearm resting across his eyes. Sasuke regarded the older genin, unsure how to even react. Neji had been one of the select few he wanted to challenge himself against during the chuunin exam. But then he heard of the boy's brush with death during his...retrieval. As intriguing as the Hyuuga seems, Sasuke felt no urge to confront him now.

In the moment Sasuke was deciding whether to be concerned or indifferent, someone ran through the door.

"I brought the tow—" Naruto stopped abruptly, a damp cloth swaying from his hands.

Awkward would have been an understatement.

"Hey," Naruto broke the silence.

Not trusting his voice, Sasuke made to give a dignified nod, but his voice made its way out of his mouth before it reached his brain. "H…hey."

Naruto stood unsure for a moment and then turned to the boy against the wall. Sasuke turned back to the Hokage, waiting to be addressed.

"Hey," Naruto knelt down next to the Hyuuga, trying hard to focus on his hurt comrade. "Let's see 'em." He gingerly brushed Neji's forearm to signal him to lift it off his face. Neji jerked away without releasing his eyes from the warm pressure. "I'm fine," Neji returned, irritated.

"Jeez, just let me see them! I didn't just go all the way down the hall as your errand boy for nothing." Naruto pried at Neji's arm and lifted it slightly. This time the Hyuuga didn't pull away. One eyelid cracked open slightly and the sudden rush of cool air and light stung his already aching eye. Neji stifled a wince. He slowly opened the other and saw the blood drain out of the blond's face.

"Your…they're red…" Naruto stammered. Neji wrinkled his nose and looked away. "I mean, I mean, not _Sharingan_ red, but pink. They're totally blood-shot, Neji." Something akin to anger lined Naruto's brow and he shove the damp cloth into Neji's hand, who took it just as aggressively.

"Dammit Neji, why are you pushing yourself so hard? You're going to kill your eyes, get kicked out of the Hyuuga and it'll be my fault."

"_Kh._" Neji let out something between a scoff and a laugh. He laid the cool cloth over his eyes and rested his arm on them again for the comforting pressure.

"I'm serious!" Naruto scowled, "I don't want you going blind and then live cursing fate or whatnot because of me."

"I won't be blind," Neji returned seriously. "Not anymore."

Naruto's brow remained pinched as he puzzled out Neji's words, but seeing Neji's lips quirk up slightly, something clicked and Naruto smiled back. He punched the other in the arm playfully. "Jerk."

Sasuke watched the exchange out of the corner of his eyes. The boys spoke in low voices, so he couldn't make out the conversation, but their evident camaraderie stirred in Sasuke an oddly unsettling feeling that he couldn't identify. _When did they become close?_

"Ready for your report, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke's attention turned back to the Hokage and he stood at ease, feet spread, hands clasped behind his back. He delivered the report with precision and professionalism.

"Excellent, Sasuke-kun. I trust Sakura's injuries aren't serious?" Tsunade inquired of her apprentice. Naruto straightened his back.

"Nothing serious." Sasuke knew his other teammate was listening with rapt attention. "She was conscious upon our return. She's just gone to the hospital for a checkup," he offered in addition.

"Good, then you're dismissed."

Sasuke left the room without as much as a passing glance at Naruto as the blond looked on.

"Naruto." The boy turned to the sannin. "Why don't you go check up on Sakura?" Perking up, Naruto grinned and made for the door, but paused to look back at Neji, who looked like he was making an effort to control his breathing.

"Are you sure you won't help him?"

"I'm fine."

"He's fine," Tsunade echoed. "His body needs to build resistance to the effects. A regular medic might not be available or even capable of treating this every time you know."

Naruto looked unconvinced.

"He's fine," Tsunade repeated decisively. "Do I look like someone who would lie to you?"

"I don't know…" Naruto sang, "you _are_ an old hag pretending to b—"

"Out!" Tsunade leaned menacingly over her desk and her forehead throbbed in anger.

_Scary. _"Ok, Ok! I'm gone." And with that, the blond ran out.

Tsunade took a moment to sit and massage the diadem on her forehead. "On your feet Neji."

The genin did as told, steadying himself on the wall, blinking at the light. He stood before the Hokage's desk.

"Aside from straining yourself, that was quite an impressive demonstration earlier," Tsunade said with a wry smile. "Your effort and achievement are noted." Neji felt a slight warmth in his cheeks. "But hard work and genius aside, there are still physical limitations to how quickly the Byakugan can adapt to novel doujustu…" The medic-nin cocked her head slightly and her eyes twinkled. _The catch, _Neji thought apprehensively.

"Tell me, how long have you been working on seeing the soul before my assignment, Neji-kun?"

The Hyuuga prodigy pressed his lips together and didn't answer immediately, but the hesitation was enough to satisfy Tsunade's curiosity. "Can you have a fully written report of your findings by day after tomorrow?"

Neji nodded. "Yes."

Tsunade leaned back into her chair and laced her fingers together. "Then I expect it on my desk Wednesday." She smiled, hoping to drop some of the formality. "Get some rest, Neji-kun, and keep heat on them as much as you can. Good work."

Neji bowed and Tsunade shook her head as he left. _What a kid. _

Not a moment later, Kakashi strode in.

"You didn't tell me," he stated without preamble. The sannin quirked her eyebrow questioningly. "That Sasuke killed Naruto."

Tsunade's expression became grim. "No point rubbing salt on the wound, Hatake. For the sake of your team, let's keep it to ourselves."

"Fair enough," Kakashi returned curtly.

"Can you work with him?"

Several thoughts all including the word 'Troublesome' flitted across Kakashi's mind, but expressing his irritation then felt unwise, and he's already promised.

"Yeah."

-'-

A few days later, Kakashi was actually reasonably on time to meet with his genin, having just been at a jounin meeting. Which had started right on schedule. On the account of Gai breaking down his door and carrying him overhead leaving a dust trail in their wake to make it on time. As expected, Gai does not take his self-imposed rules lightly.

But from afar—an insecure kuniochi, a stoic, an idiot—the three young genin weren't so much ninja but children. It stirred a bittersweet nostalgia in Kakashi and he slowed nearly to a stop so they could stay children in his mind's eye just a moment longer.

"…but then one of them surprised me and knocked me out with the hilt of his kunai," Sakura finished, touching the bandage, somewhat embarrassed.

"Sounds like you did awesome, Sakura-chan!" Naruto remarked, "And if I was there I would have totally protected you, unlike a lame _someone_ I know."

"Hn."

"Sasuke-kun was amazing, don't criticize!" Sakura said defensively. Naruto crossed his arms with a pout. "Anyway," the kunoichi continued, "what have you been up to? You better?"

Naruto stiffened slightly, then threw Sakura a mischievous grin. "Top. Secret. Mission." He wagged his fingers to emphasize each word.

"Yeah right."

"Yes right." The genin turned to the sound of Kakashi's voice. "Didn't you have a 'Top Secret' meeting with the Hokage this morning Naruto?" Kakashi asked playfully. His student's eyes went wide.

"Oh no! I forgot!" And he took off.

"Naruto."

The boy turned to look expectantly at his sensei. There was a pause.

"…Hurry along."

Confused, Naruto turned and did just that.

"Don't tell me he really is working on a mission, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura asked incredulously.

The jounin pondered his next words. "Sure he is. He's off to do a little soul-searching."

Sakura giggled at how corny that sounded. Sasuke snorted for the same reason. Then Kakashi made eye contact with Sasuke knowingly and Sasuke frowned, slightly confused by a pressure in his chest. The konoichi suddenly registered the heavy atmosphere. "Wait, you don't really mean that do you?"

Kakashi shrugged.

Slightly exasperated by her unreliable sensei, Sakura was going to let it drop…"Wait! What about the chuunin exam? Are we still going as a team?" Kakashi cocked his head. "I mean…" Sakura stammered, "if you nominate us that is."

"I don't think he'll be participating this time." Kakashi replied lightly.

"But…" Sakura looked nervously at Sasuke.

"Did you think I wouldn't look after my students, Sakura? We'll be mixing up the teams a little. I've already spoken with Asuma. His student is already a chuunin after all…"

In a moment of planet-aligning synchronicity, Sasuke and Sakura both simultaneously saw visions of Ino and Sakura bickering and manhandling Sasuke. _I hope we get Chouji,_ they both thought.

"…and Gai's team may be a man down…"

Sakura grew concerned as Sasuke mentally assessed all permutations of how the teams could be arranged. "But Lee-kun seems to be recovering fine! He is, isn't he?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Kakashi answered vaguely. "It'll all work itself out." Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke before it dawned on Sakura that he had intended to nominate them the whole time.

-'-

Naruto burst through mahogany door in a huff. "I'm here Granny Tsunad—_oomph_!" His face squished against something soft and he landed gracelessly on the floor.

"Yo! Watch it now." Jiraiya towered over him, with something like amusement on this face. Naruto grimaced and turned a little blue, realizing he almost had a mouthful of the lecher's rump.

"_Blech!" _Naruto over-dramatically chocked out. "Pervy Sennin! What are you doing here?" Naruto finally noticed someone else in the room. Neji was looking at him placidly. "Neji too? I thought we were done."

Tsunade had a slight, knowing smile on her face. "Oh no, you three are just starting, now that we've confirmed your condition. Pack your bags, brat. You're going on a little trip."

The blond looked a little nervously at the Hyuuga, wondering if he hadn't been forced to join. But his senpai's attention was trained on the Hokage and his face betrayed little. Naruto scratched his head and turned towards the Hokage as well.

"So what are we doing?"

"What do you think you're going to be doing with me coming along?" Jiraiya challenged.

"Training?" Naruto asked hopefully.

At that, Jiraiya grinned.

"Research."

-'-

* * *

Chapter 18: **Of Demons and Ghosts  
**


	18. Of Demons and Ghosts

**Author's Note:** This is for people who have read manga chapter 366. If you're not following the manga, please skip ahead.

So, this chapter features a conversation between Jiraiya and Tsunade that resembles one they just had in the manga. I just wanted to let y'all know that I drafted this chapter several weeks before ch. 366 came out and I'm a little disappointed that I did not post this chapter earlier so the sentiments expressed here could have had a little more impact. But rather than spaz and emo over it, I'll take my beta's advice and marvel at the coincidence. I hope you'll still find this chapter enjoyable.

* * *

**-'-**

**Chapter 18**

**Of Demons and Ghosts**

**-'-**

The sky hung a deepening blue as the last of twilight made way for a sickle-moonlit night. Sasuke stepped into the clearing; the very one Naruto had had his...breakdown. The area felt somewhat off-kilter, a stump marking the training post that was destroyed during their confrontation. Sasuke turned his gaze to the ground as though avoiding someone's eyes and wondered vaguely how he got there.

He found himself in front of a training post and his eyes narrowed.

_Thwack._

_Thump. Thump. Thwack. Thud._

Sasuke registered a chill from his sweat-slick skin as he pummeled the post.

_Training_, he convinced himself, _I__'m just training_. This had nothing to do with Naruto leaving to find a cure for...whatever the hell he had or the gnawing feeling in his gut. This had nothing to do with the poison in his eyes (there was a dark smudge on the wood where his burning knuckles had been) or anything to do with being abandoned again. It certainly had nothing at all to do with the emotions that he didn't want to find words to describe; it would only make them all the more real.

_Abs tight. Knees bent. Find your center._

He punished the post anew.

-'-

The tungsten desk lamp cast opaque-brown shadows on the documents under Tsunade's hand. She wriggled her wrists and head at odd angles, awkwardly trying to outsmart the shadow to see what she was writing underneath it to no avail. Needless to say, paperwork—at night—put Tsunade in a snippy mood. Her brows pinched in concentration.

The door opened.

"What?" she called out testily without looking up.

Jiraiya poked his head in sideways from behind the door, his wild white mane cascading to the floor. The rude greeting bounced off his thick skin, tempered by years of familiarity.

"Ah, careful Princess. That worried forehead will show your age."

Jiraiya ducked as a paperweight flew past his head.

"I'm really not in the mood, Jiraiya," she said without looking up. Her hand dug into her hair. "There's so many of these damn documents to prep for international travel."

She could feel Jiraiya step fully into the office, his head cocked just so, regarding her silently. _Geez, didn't I dismiss him?_ She set her brush down and sat back impatiently. "You have business with me?"

"You need a break," Jiraiya said, ignoring the question. "Sake. My treat."

-'-

In Konoha, there's a snack stand that served salted saury and eggplant miso. The venue kept late hours, catering to patrons meeting friends or hungry for a bite to eat after most restaurants closed. Tonight, a promotion for fried gyoza kept the place buzzing with activity. Unless one was looking, one would hardly notice the still shadow of a figure sitting at the far end of the counter; every once in a while, Hatake Kakashi found solitude in public.

He twirled a piece of dango at the end of a stick distractedly over his empty miso bowl, his brush of gray hair slightly drooping, and felt every moment of his twenty-seven years. It couldn't have been an accident that he was assigned Naruto and Sasuke (though, he was ready to believe it was some sort of cosmic joke), and the expectations of ghosts had weighed on his slim shoulders ever since. He'd made mistakes left and right, and very nearly failed irreparably when Sasuke defected to the Sound. And now he bore the responsibility of unraveling the mysteries of the Sharingan—a gift not by blood, but by obligation—and be enough of an expert to entice Sasuke to stay. Or, at the very least, teach him enough to control it and hope to instill some values along the way.

Kakashi frowned under his mask. He told Sakura and Sasuke about Naruto's trip that afternoon (though he'd kept Naruto's condition sufficiently vague) and Sasuke didn't seem too happy about it. Exactly why, he wasn't sure (though he had some guesses), but regardless, he'll need to be vigilant.

And Naruto...he'd been a complete wild card since day one. Kakashi's mind wandered to a memory of the Kyuubi seared into him over a decade ago. He'd never disrespected its power, but with Naruto's insuperable optimism and resolve, somehow he allowed faith to creep in. It clouded his eyes and he missed the early symptoms. Again. _What could I have done? What could I have done differently? _In his mind's eye Kakashi saw his sensei through a haze, those sad eyes disappointed though a cheerful smile denied it otherwise and the weight constricted against his chest. In practicality, Kakashi knew he couldn't do everything, (_far from it_), but it stung knowing that the only way he could help was to let his student go. _They don't—_

There was someone behind him. In an instant his trained senses reeled in his thoughts and put him on alert.

It was someone he knew and he chided himself slightly after registering the presence, but Kakashi didn't drop his guard. "It's off hours, Tenzou. You could lose the mask."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw an ANBU mask placed on the counter and a young man settling in the seat next to him.

"I could say the same for you, senpai," Tenzou said with a slightly amused smile.

The dango continued to twirl.

"And I wish you wouldn't use my real name in public."

Kakashi ignored the request and remained silent as the server refilled his tea and set down an extra cup. "Is it really okay that you're not going with them?" he finally asked.

Tenzou paused a moment and gathered his bearings. "I'm needed with my squad." When Kakashi didn't push back, his expression softened. "Even though the Hyuuga hasn't dealt with the Kyuubi directly yet, from what I can tell, between him and Jiraiya-sama, Naruto's in good hands. Who knows? Maybe it won't be a problem at all."

Kakashi finally rested the dango stick on his plate and let out a tired laugh. "You're optimism is unbecoming of an ANBU."

Tenzou chuckled lightly. "Maybe, but you're not ANBU anymore." He mentally bit his lips, wondering if that was at all out of line. He fidgeted with his tea cup unconsciously. "I wouldn't worry about your students, senpai, since you are their teacher."

At that, Kakashi turned to face his kohai and the young ANBU hoped his face reflected his sincerity rather than his nervousness (and wished for all the world he still had his mask on). _Maybe that's why Kakashi-senpai keeps his. _

Then, Kakashi smiled.

"You know, I always thought you had a lot of potential." He clapped Tenzou solidly on the shoulder. "Don't let your team down. I'll be expecting good things from you." And then he left, leaving the young man sitting, his mouth slightly agape. Tenzou would admit to himself that he had, frankly, hero-worshiped Kakashi while they were in ANBU together. All about professionalism and teamwork, Kakashi was never generous with personal praise. The Copy Nin, a legend of this generation, believed in him? Tenzou's chest swelled with a new-found resolve to be an accomplished shinobi; to one day be worthy of such faith. He sat at the counter, distracted by thoughts of the future when a slip of paper slipped into his sight. When he swung around, he could only catch the shadow of Kakashi's disappearing back.

"Senpai! The bill!"

-'-

A few blocks away, two other legends sat at a diner with a spread reminiscent of their reunion not so many months ago. Tsunade ate her food distractedly. There were precious few people left with whom she could drop her Hokage-facade and she was bothered by the urgent pressure to talk to Jiraiya. Across the table, Jiraiya regarded his long-time friend with a slight twinkle in his eye. Remembering how the old girl had adamantly refused responsibility, he marveled at how much she'd shouldered it since and, while it hadn't exactly been smooth sailing, he was more confident than ever that he had differed the offer to the right person (not that selfish motivations didn't have anything to do with it, but he really was better suited for other things). This time though, with an extra child to watch over (and a Hyuuga of all people), it could prove to be more challenging than usual.

"So you've cleared it with the Hyuuga?" Jiraiya asked. He swilled his sake bottle agitatedly, his cheeks slightly flushed.

Tsunade downed the contents of her cup. "Yeah. I've informed Hiashi of the trip, but didn't give any details so Hiashi can legitimately not answer to the others if he's questioned."

Jiraiya grunted in both approval and disapproval. "Damn family's all backwards."

"You know they're not the only ones who feel that way, but they are the only ones who can help," Tsunade countered diplomatically. Jiraiya snorted incredulously and Tsunade drew her brows in. "Don't give the boy a hard time," she warned. Like a petulant child, the toad sannin turned his face away and pouted.

They were silent and Tsunade studied the empty cup in her hands.

"Thanks for doing this."

"Hm?" Jiraiya shifted his eyes towards Tsunade and waited.

"I wish there was more in the archives, but there's hardly any documentation for anything related to souls. Even with Neji-kun's help, without more information I can't do much without an extremely high risk of failure."

Jiraiya's expression softened and he faced his old friend. "There's no helping it, right?" he said with a smile to counter her frown. "Messing with human souls is forbidden in the Leaf; naturally they wouldn't keep study material lying around for some idiot wanting to…" he trailed off. "Besides, I'm getting restless. Always glad for an excuse to travel!" His forced cheer settled into a heavy, uncomfortable silence between them. Tsunade refilled her cup.

"Tampering with the soul is best left to the Gods," she said in lieu of the unspoken subject hanging between them. She sipped her sake. Jiraiya, however, had just enough to drink to loosen his tongue and he let out a humorless chuckle.

"Wouldn't it be funny if we found what we needed at Orochimaru's?"

Tsunade glared at him as if there couldn't be anything less funny, but she spared him the reprimand. "He needs three years?"

_Two and three-quarters, _Jiraiya didn't say. "Yup."

"And the Akatusuki needs three."

"More or less."

"Hmm." Tsunade hummed thoughtfully. "That's convenient."

Jiraiya shrugged. "I'm just telling it like it is."

"Well, that'll give us more time" Tsunade said, though she felt her heart quicken with a sense of urgency. She was looking at Jiraiya, but saw Nawaki and Dan laughing and smiling noiselessly beyond a fog where her voice couldn't reach.

"You know," she started a little awkwardly, "it might come down to creating a jutsu involving..." She felt a warm, comforting hand wrap around her fingers across the table. She didn't pull away.

"I know," Jiraiya finished, sparing her from voicing her thoughts. He squeezed her hand and withdrew respectfully. Tsunade, however, couldn't just let the topic drop.

"I know if anyone had to— or even could— it would be you, but…" Tsunade searched for the words to express her fears and settled on, "Just make sure I don't have to classify it as a forbidden jutsu."

Jiraiya poured more sake for the both of them and didn't answer.

"And if you do," Tsunade looked at him sternly, "bring the kids back first."

There was a beat as Jiraiya looked at her with a muddled expression that was all at once amused, surprised, and thoughtful; Tsunade hoped and feared that the implicit _make sure you come home_ was clear. Frustrated that her cheeks warmed a little despite herself, Tsunade braced herself for the theatrical grin and tease for succumbing to such sentimentality, but Jiraiya surprised her with a quiet, lopsided smile.

"Of course."

Tsunade allowed the shoulders she didn't even know were tense to relax slightly.

"A prince can't let his princess worry, even if he has been dumped."

"Idiot."

Despite the reprimand, Tsunade found it surprisingly easy to suppress the urge to knock him upside the head. She returned his smile as they raised their cups and toasted to things unsaid.

-'-

_Uuughh. I shouldn't have had that fourth bowl of ramen, _Naruto groaned. He laid curled on the bed, feeling slightly sick to the stomach. _But it was Iruka-sensei's treat!_ he justified to himself. His stomach churned in just didn't have the same voracious appetite he used to in the same way he didn't have the same natural drive. But he pushed and pushed to keep up appearances because he'd worked too damn hard to lose what he'd achieved. It had always been an uphill, _infuriating_ battle to get people to acknowledge him, but the fear of losing what he'd gained left him trembling inside, like ice running through his veins and choking his heart. Having started with less than nothing, Naruto never took for granted what he'd gained (_unlike **some** people_) and he vowed to himself to do whatever he could to keep it; to keep _deserving_ it.

_Especially_ for Iruka-sensei. He was the very first to voice faith in him. Naruto cherished that faith and refused to disappoint him— even with something as trivial as consuming the expected amount of food. He never wanted to give Iruka the chance to say he was wrong. _No, it's more than that, _Naruto thought _Iruka-sensei had that worried look when I stopped at the third bowl. _More than not wanting to disappoint, Naruto didn't want to worry Iruka in a way he imagined he wouldn't want to worry a father. _Or a brother..._

Naruto made a face and physically shook the surfacing thoughts away to instead linger on the comforting sensation of his limbs sagging into his mattress. It had been another mentally exhausting day of 'acting normal.' He marveled at the amazing amount of effort it took to smile, to feel, to care. But it's been better, lots better since Tsunade and that pervy sage did some fancy work on him at the hospital. It was like … (Naruto searched his mind for a metaphor) … Like screwing a faucet shut tight. Tsunade figured that prior to his hospitalization, he was constantly suppressing the Kyuubi subconsciously and that that was what sapped him of his energy. True enough, it took much less effort to be cheerful, to be excited, irritable, _something _that was _him_. Still, it was an awfully strange and conflicting sensation knowing what one _should_ be, but isn't. _It's hard work being yourself _he thought humorlessly and cursed himself a little for being larger than life

_And I thought it was tough just pretending to be confident. _He thought back to that time he had confided to Hinata— he was grateful she was different (and he told her so) and didn't seem like the type of person who would judge him. It seemed ironic that he had to entrust his identity and vulnerabilities to the very person who tried to kill her (and he wondered vaguely if all families were as strange as the Hyuuga).

The blonde's sleepy mind wandered idly through the past week of working with Neji and rested on the moment he had confronted him about helping. _He really is alright, _Naruto reflected. Even so, he was surprised that he could be a little more real around Neji and didn't need to pretend quite so much. It was a pleasant feeling among all the other pressures weighing down on him.

In any case, now that he knew why he couldn't use chakra as well as before, he was less frustrated and eager to find a way to fix it. _We need to hurry and find more information so Granny can figure out a cure!_ _Yet..._His eyes rested on the traitorous half-packed bag on the floor.

"Stupid bastard, Sasuke!" the blond spluttered aloud and with a surge of adrenaline he swung himself into a sitting position. It always came back to Sasuke when Naruto tried to work out why he felt restless and unsettled thinking about the upcoming trip. The genjutsu...was it really an accident? Tsunade claimed it was, that the Sharingan was new and unstable. But seriously, was it? In his mind Naruto wanted to give Sasuke the benefit of the doubt, but something foreign squirmed and fluttered unpleasantly inside. The brief meeting that morning was the first time he'd seen him since the incident, and they certainly didn't say anything meaningful to each other. Naruto scrunched his nose up in irritation and huffed. What was he expecting? An apology? Some sign of remorse? _As if_, he thought bitterly.

To make matters worse, Tsunade said Sasuke would be staying to train his new Sharingan. _Why does he get to get stronger and train with Kakashi-sensei while I have to play catch up? _It was as if the jerk was being rewarded. Naruto didn't notice his fists clench.

No, it was something deeper than that. Sasuke had seriously wanted to kill him. And not only did he want to, he actually _did_. It wasn't the first time Naruto was grateful that the Kyuubi valued self-preservation, but it was also Kyuubi clawing at his weakened defenses that had him feeling ill and incompetent all the time. And it was all because his teammate fucking _killed_ him. _Does he even know?_ Naruto wasn't sure. He felt…what was the word? Resentful. The feeling didn't sit well with him: it felt like poison and he wondered if it was really his feelings or not.

_I bet that bastard wouldn't care even if he did know._

A light breeze brushed against his skin and he got up testily to close the balcony door. He paused when he got there: the sickle moon was smiling gently down on the village, dotted with evening lights. On nights like this the old him would sometimes sit atop the monument, watching over the village like the great kages immortalized on the mountain; over the village he's sworn to protect.

Tonight, he found himself gazing up at the monument from his balcony. His eyes were drawn to the Fourth, timeless and steadfast, the dark profile oddly familiar as if he'd experienced it in a dream. Suddenly, Naruto felt a cleansing fire swell within his heart and he blinked stupidly at his self-consciousness as the stony eyes looked down upon him. He felt a little silly and somewhat ashamed that he'd let dark thoughts and self-pity overshadow what was important.

_I promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore. I won't be a victim. _

_I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dammit!_

Eyes defiant, he reached out his hand and clutched the effigy in a fist strengthened by his self-promise.

_Watch me._

-'-

* * *

Chapter 19 **Until Tomorrow Then **Naruto looked back, hoping, but the street was empty.

**Author's Note: **Special thanks to Eraya for nominating this fic for the LiveJournal Naruto Choice fan fic contest for Best Fic in Progress. Although it didn't make the cut, it was a great honor to be placed among so many wonderful authors and works.


	19. Until Tomorrow Then

**A/N:** This is the last chapter, folks. See you at the end!

* * *

-'-

**Chapter 19**

**Until Tomorrow Then**

-'-

It was dark.

Sasuke blinked. Once…twice…Were his eyes even open? He couldn't be sure and his blindness was unsettling in the stillness. It smelled of wood and earth, and his flesh, swallowed invisible by tar-thick black, felt cool and clammy. He couldn't move.

Suddenly, he found it very hard to breathe.

Sasuke's eyes shot open to a painful burst of light as he woke with a start, his back cold and damp. His heart pounded violently in his chest. _Where am I? _he thought,on the verge of panic. Presently his surroundings came into focus and he realized he had fallen asleep in the clearing the night before. Blood rushed under his skin. _This is something that idiot would do! _he thought, suddenly annoyed.

With a grunt, Sasuke swung himself into a sitting position and shook away the disquieting feeling from experiencing sleep paralysis out of his head. A glint in the dewy grass caught his attention and his eyes focused on his hitai-ate, which had somehow fallen off in his sleep. His numb mind regarded the band like some queer animal, strangely foreign when seen out of its usual place. Gingerly, he picked it up and brushed his thumb along the metal plate, feeling the little nicks and scratches and the rough, etched Leaf insignia.

The symbol of Konoha.

It never meant much to Sasuke, not in the way the symbol on his back had branded him and set his path. Not in the way Naruto prized it beyond comprehension. Loyalty, Camaraderie, the Will of Fire: Iruka had taught them that these were the virtues embodied in the Leaf. To Sasuke these concepts were nothing but sugar-infused words devoid of substance (and Sasuke will _not_ give them meaning) that left a nasty taste in his mouth.

That symbol had come dangerously close to being slashed through…

Perhaps it was because the cloth was soaked in morning dew, but the headband felt oddly heavy in his hands. He tightened his grip around it and he ran.

-'-

…_Change of clothes. Bandages. Standard weapons set. Green tea. Compress. Emergency rations…_

Neji paused from his inventory and held still. Yes, that was his cousin's presence lingering just outside his open doorway.

"To what do I owe this honor?"

Hinata made a startled little noise at being discovered and flushed, stammering for words while Neji stood unhelpfully silent. Finally in a fit of embarrassment, Hinata thrust out a jar of healing balm with outstretched arms and bowed low to avoid seeing her cousin's reaction. She squeezed her eyes shut for good measure.

For Hinata, the dreaded silence after felt insurmountably long and voices of her insecurities lurked impatiently at the edge of her consciousness when she finally felt the weight lifted from her fingers. She blinked, and straightened up in time to catch the remnant of Neji's quizzical expression morph into a formal one.

"Thank you, Hinata-sama."

She pulled her arms back close to her body.

"Umm," she started, feeling braver, "You…you and Naruto going to be away long?" Her cheeks blossomed sakura-pink.

"It's hard to say." Neji tucked the balm snugly in his pack.

"Oh."

Pigeon-toed, she swayed a little in place, tapping her index fingers together. Neji watched her characteristically cast down her eyes and, his expression warming almost imperceptibly, allowed the formality to relax.

"You should go say goodbye."

Hinata looked his way, gave him shy smile and a small nod before she turned to leave. Her light steps turned into a trot, then into a run. _No_, she thought as she hurried down the hall, _I'll wish him good fortune._

-'-

"Hunnnngghh!"

Naruto muscles strained against a losing battle with gravity as he desperately tugged at the weight on his shoulders.

"!"

His jaws were sore from grinding ivory against ivory.

"_Naruto!"_

"Waaah!" he cried, startled, and face-planted into the dirt.

Naruto popped up almost immediately, shaking his fist.

"Sakura-chan, what the hell was that for?"

"I should ask you the same thing," she huffed as she approached him on the street, "What in the world is in that bag?"

Naruto turned to look at his discarded orange backpack and rubbed the back of his head. Funny, he didn't _think_ he packed enough to fill a bag bigger than himself…

Suddenly he realized he was talking to _Sakura._

"Ah, nothing! It's nothing!" he said too loudly, waving his hands nervously as sweat started to bead around his temples. "I'm just, er, taking out the … laundry. Yeah that's it! Dirty clothes were just piiiling up and I figured it's time to get them washed. Hahahaha!" He forced a laugh and didn't realize he had closed his eyes until he opened them and found Sakura gone.

"Sakura-chan?"

_Zzzrriiiiip!_

Naruto swung around and found Sakura pulling out fistfuls of weapons and scrolls out of his bag and dumping them behind her.

"Aagh! What are you doing? I mean, did I say laundry? I meant, I was going out to the woods to train." _Dummy, that would have been more believable if you said that first!_ he thought, mentally slapping his forehead.

"I know you're going away."

Sakura's serious voice, more so than her declaration, caught him off-guard. She roughly pulled out a quilt and half his supply of cup ramen.

"O-oh?" Naruto stammered, a bit defeated. Not bothering to drudge up more energy to fuss over his ramen, he shifted his gaze away and braced himself, half-expecting a tirade about how terrible he was at lying, or how dumb he must be if he thought he could sneak out and avoid confronting her about leaving…

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Naruto looked up perplexed and slightly fearful. Her voice was gentle, as were her eyes, as she crouched motionlessly beside his bag.

"About what?" he asked, knowing the answer. His voice nearly cracked.

"That you're not feeling well."

Naruto slapped on a grin.

"Heh. What're you—?"

"It's okay," she interrupted, shaking her head, "Kakashi-sensei told us you were a little under the weather and needed to go get better." Naruto was speechless. Unless Sakura was being extremely considerate of his feelings, Kakashi must have glossed over any details of his situation. "Kakashi-sensei…" he voiced more to himself than his teammate. _He kept his promise_ he realized and his chest tightened slightly. _I owe him one_.

Sakura turned to look at him. "Yeah, he finally told us after Sasuke-kun badgered him about why you were leaving," she added with a slight grin.

Naruto was mortified to find himself blushing, but recovered and turned his head away with a scowl. "Sasuke? Right, sure he did."

"No, he did," Sakura responded, a little surprised. "He's concerned. We both are."

"Yeah?" Naruto turned to face Sakura and stuffed his hands aggressively in his pockets. "You know that bastard doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"Naruto," Sakura chided, then decided there was no convincing the stubborn boy and pushed the bag against his chest instead. Naruto let out an 'oomph' as air rushed out of his lungs with and caught the bag before it fell to the ground.

"Isn't that better?" Sakura asked smugly, admiring her handy work. "Just the essentials. I'm sure Jiraiya-san will take care of you, and the rest you can improvise."

"Uh, thanks, Sakura-chan," he stammered and shouldered the bag.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Well, I better get going," Naruto finally said, and made to leave…

"Hey."

Naruto turned and Sakura held up her pinky.

"We'll both be stronger when you get back."

Naruto's breathe caught in his chest seeing the fire in her eyes and was suddenly reminded of why he liked her so much.

He hooked his pinky around hers, his own blue eyes reflecting that determined flame.

"Yeah."

_Promise._

_-'-_

Ten minutes and running several mental circles later, Naruto found himself in front of Sasuke's door. With a breath, he reached out:

_Knock….knock knock._

Then he waits, his body jittering unconsciously with nervous energy.

_Knock. Knock Knock._

And he waits.

___Knock-knock-knock____-knock____-knock____-knock____-knock____-knock____-knock_!

_Damn it, get the door!_ Naruto kicked at the door in frustration. He had no idea what he was doing there or what he wanted to say, but after meeting Sakura, he wanted to see that dummy before he left anyway.

Of course he wasn't there.

Bastard.

-'-

It was the second time in so many weeks that Tsunade found an Uchiha in a tangle with her chuunin guards.

"Release him."

Sasuke jerked out of the chuunin's hold. "Tsu—" He caught himself and bowed. "Permission to join Jiraiya-san and Naruto's mission, Hokage-sama."

The request stunned Tsunade, but she quickly recovered and pulled together her serious face, fighting the upward curl of her lip.

"Permission denied."

"But—!"

"Per stipulations of the council," she interrupted loudly, "you are not permitted to travel outside Konoha's borders except on approved missions under proper supervision. Or have you forgotten, shinobi?" Her hard eyes bore into his defiant ones. "This is not one of those missions."

Trapped, the boy stood silently, his jaw was tight and his dark eyes flitting as if following some intense internal debate. Tsunade watched not without some amusement as Sasuke struggled. Finally…

"It's my fault, isn't it?"

He didn't look her in the eyes and she didn't answer, letting him fill in the silence himself.

"It's my fault that dumbass is sick, so…" Sasuke's voice quavered, but it seemed that pride forbade him to give voice to any self-atonement, "…isn't it expected of me to help fix things?" he hedged. His voice was steadily becoming more confident. "Besides," he added, "Jiraiya-san is my sensei. I won't have my training interrupted."

_Arrogant brat_, Tsunade thought despite seeing underneath the underneath. "Hatake Kakashi is your assigned jounin sensei, Sasuke-kun," she corrected. "And your mission is to concentrate on your training with him, and to turn yourself into at least a half-decent representative of the Leaf. Am I understood?"

The boy's lips tightened as if to hold back a retort and Tsunade suspected that Sasuke understood the importance of his tutelage under the copy-nin. "Yes," he finally responded in a self-restrained voice.

There were dark circles under his eyes, Tsunade noticed, and she found her thoughts drifting to Naruto. Her papers were a mess, she decided, and deliberately busied herself straightening up her desk.

"If you leave now, you'll still catch them at the gate," she commented off-handedly and felt, more than saw, Sasuke nod tentatively before taking off. There might have even been a hint of a bow.

Alone in her office, Tsunade finally allowed herself to smile.

-'-

Not too long prior, Neji had stepped out uneventfully from the Hyuuga compound.

He hadn't bothered to say goodbye or announce to anyone there of his leaving. Those who needed to know were informed of his upcoming departure days ago and he felt no urge to suffer needlessly through forced courtesies. Somehow though, he found himself detouring to the usual place out on the field. Loathe as he was to admit it, there was _some_ family who deserved his time.

"Do not worry Neji-kun! I have absolute faith that you will return Triumphant from your Super-Secret-Hokage-Commissioned Mission with the full Virility of your Youthful Power!" Lee announced exuberantly with exaggerated gestures to match. Neji resisted rubbing the tick above his brow and took comfort in knowing that he didn't have to deal with these theatrics with Jiraiya.

He caught Tenten's eyes and she gave him a sheepish shrug.

"That's right!" Gai-sensei bellowed and redirected a shoulder-slap meant for Neji over to Lee. "But it's a shame that you'll probably miss the Chuunin Exams. You'll have to work extra hard to catch to your teammates."

Neji was about to reply in the affirmative, but was distracted by the dumbstruck expression that appeared on Lee's face. Dumber than usual. His equally puzzled teammates all turned and waited for an explanation.

"I…" Lee was gaping like a fish.

_Hook_.

"I…I will become a chuunin…"

_Line_.

"I will become chuunin and before Neji!"

_Sinker_.

"This is my chance! Hard Work will surpass Genius. That is a Promise!"

Gai's lips quivered and snot jiggled under his nose. "Oh, my precious student! What a Youthful attitude you have!"

While the two beasts embraced and cried, Tenten rose calmly from her spot on the log. "And we just got back together as a team too" she commented somewhat wistfully. She glanced at the crazy duo still shouting capitalized words and gesturing wildly. "It'll be…tough, without you."

"I'm sure sensei can arrange for another genin to be the third team member," Neji answered diplomatically.

The konoichi was about to respond when Lee, who could miraculously eavesdrop over his own din, piped up.

"Oh! Let us recruit Sakura-chan! She would be a wonderful addition to our team!"

Tenten put her hands on her hips. "Get serious," she chided, "You'll just get distracted."

"No I will not. I will be ten, no, a _hundred _times more focused and dedicated!"

"Give it up," Neji scoffed, a conditioned cold smirk turning up his lip. "For you, a higher level of dedication doesn't exist."

There was a beat of silence and Lee's impossibly wide eyes blinked at him, but Neji didn't realize he had delivered a backhanded compliment until they started to glitter wetly. And he was definitely _not_ prepared when the boy tackled him. Neji could just make out his sensei's energetic baritone and Tenten's futile calls for order over Lee's tearful affirmations of Brotherhood.

Now his head ached along with his eyes. They still stung from abuse and his stomach churned whenever he seriously thought about his mission. But (he thought, tangled up in limbs and chaos) if it meant a respite from his team, he'll gladly take on the Nine Tails.

Still, they'd be here to welcome him back, and that was a comforting thought too.

-'-

Sasuke broke into a run as soon as he left Tsunade's office, trying to convince himself that he was just heated because Jiraiya was abandoning him. After all, wasn't training with the sannin the reason he had agreed to come back? He still wasn't ready, not nearly. He needed more training, more power. _More hate_.

But surprisingly, thoughts of his life's ambition found no anchor at the moment. All he knew was an urgency tugging at his chest and spurring his feet. There was something he couldn't walk away from at the Valley of the End and the moment he hesitated he claimed it. He claimed it and broke it in one fell swoop and he hadn't a clue what it was or how to fix it. He didn't really want to think about it. But it had something to do with Naruto and he knew he would have no peace the way things are.

The ground disappeared beneath his feet as he took to the rooftops.

-'-

The sun hung cheerily in the blue late-morning sky as if mocking Naruto's troubled mind as he scraped his sandals slowly along the dirt road. Once past the wall, there was no coming back until they've met their objective. Until they find a cure. _Until I'm stronger._ He looked up from his feet and found the sannin and Neji already waiting by the gate. Noticing the boy, Jiraiya pushed himself upright from wall and waved him over.

Naruto hesitate, looking once more behind him, foolishly hoping...

The street was empty.

He cast his eyes down, disappointed…

"Hey."

Naruto swung around and found Sasuke a mere arm's length away. There he was, his hands in his pockets, as causal as ever, as self-assured as ever…

Heat flared up in Naruto's coils and to his surprise, Naruto felt himself grow hostile.

"What?" he spat.

Naruto grew impatient as Sasuke stood mute and was oblivious to the concentrated, controlled rise and fall of his teammate's chest and the slight tremble of his over-exerted legs.

What indeed? _Thanks for bringing me back? Thanks for caring? _The internal monologue became increasingly resentful in Naruto's mind. _I'm sorry I tried to kill you. Oh, and I didn't really mean to use the Sharingan on you. Sorry for literally stealing your SOUL._ A scowl grew visible on Naruto's face. _As if those words were capable of coming out of Sasuke's mouth._

If Naruto was a little more adept at reading underneath the underneath and noticed the flicker behind Sasuke's dark eyes, he might have been disappointed in his accuracy. But already, as it was, he couldn't expect any of it from Sasuke.

"Don't get yourself killed."

The fire died and time stopped. Naruto stood dumbfounded.

That was enough.

"Y...yeah. You too."

They stood there, breathing together, comfortable together for the first time in months. At long last, Sasuke extended a fist towards Naruto.

Naruto reached out and tapped his own against it.

_'Did you know, Naruto…that you can read inside each other's minds when your fists meet. There is no need for words._'

And something passed between them, not quite a promise, but not at all a lie, and really, for now, it was enough. As long as they were both alive, there could be a future.

Jiraiya smiled. "Oi, Naruto! Let's get going."

"Okay!" Naruto called to the sannin. He locked eyes with Sasuke once more and with a small nod trotted off to catch up to his departing group.

The sun was warm and the path was clear enough to put one foot forward at a time. Naruto didn't need to look back anymore, but if he did, he'd have seen Sasuke lingering, watching them disappear into the unknown horizon.

-'-

_- END -_

-'-

* * *

**09.01.10** If you're taking the time to favorite/alert, please leave a note too. Thanks!

**Author's Note:** Whew, that's it! It has been a great experience writing this. Your comments and enthusiasm for the piece has been a source of motivation and joy and it's been fun hearing everyone's theories as the story unfolded. Everyone, thank you so much for reading and sticking with me until the end.

And yes, this is the end as I had planned since the idea first came to me nearly three years ago. I had always meant for it to be a transition piece between two arcs (think Itachi's Return to Konoha, or Naruto Looks for Replacement Teammates) and have it feel like a piece of a larger world. The glimpses into the next Chunnin Exam, for example, was completely intentional because, well, life goes on. If this were the manga, would the next arc follow Naruto? Would it shift focus to the Chuunin Exams? Would Orochimaru or the Akatsuki complicate everything? I don't know, but I always thought it would be fun to see what this community would come up with.

Thanks again for your support and I look forward to your thoughts and feedback.


End file.
